Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Takes $388,000 Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,680 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $388,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on RCL. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 price objective (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,021,265.74. This represents a 28.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

NYSE:RCL opened at $215.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $58.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company’s 50-day moving average is $240.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.60. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $125.06 and a 12-month high of $277.08.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

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.