Colonial River Investments LLC Purchases 96 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Colonial River Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,915 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the quarter. Colonial River Investments LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at $242,000. Howard Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 2,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $521,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Macquarie increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 price objective (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. This trade represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $234.16 on Monday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $119.48 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $244.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.32.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. Analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 20.58%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. operates as a cruise company worldwide. The company operates cruises under the Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises brands, which comprise a range of itineraries. As of February 21, 2024, it operated 65 ships. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.