Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 270,553 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,865 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $62,414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

NYSE RCL opened at $177.60 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $234.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.43. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $125.06 and a 12-month high of $277.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RCL shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,021,265.74. The trade was a 28.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 sale, the director now owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last 90 days. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.