Insider Selling: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Director Sells 19,600 Shares of Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.10, for a total transaction of $4,960,760.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 165,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,868,055.10. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL traded down $5.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $248.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,363,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,286,203. The company has a market capitalization of $67.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $130.08 and a 12-month high of $277.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $212.98 and a 200-day moving average of $230.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 24.92%.

Institutional Trading of Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 44,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,068,000 after acquiring an additional 15,078 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 11,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,310,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Integrity Alliance LLC. bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter worth about $230,000. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 200.0% during the first quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 37,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,704,000 after buying an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Finally, SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter valued at approximately $406,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Melius Research raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Northcoast Research initiated coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, April 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $279.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $249.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.95.

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.