Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Buys New Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays increased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $230.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.30.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE:RCL opened at $251.60 on Thursday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $210.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $229.11. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $130.08 and a one year high of $277.08. The company has a market capitalization of $68.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 24.92%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,021,265.74. The trade was a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 89,992 shares of company stock worth $23,566,445 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.