Qtron Investments LLC Decreases Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Qtron Investments LLC lessened its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,096 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,002 shares during the quarter. Qtron Investments LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of RCL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake 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 in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $191.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. 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 Ltd. has a 52-week low of $125.06 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $224.70 and a 200 day moving average of $225.30.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 over the last three months. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on RCL. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.95.

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.