Sirios Capital Management L P Sells 22,768 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Sirios Capital Management L P lessened its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 44.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,036 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,768 shares during the quarter. Royal Caribbean Cruises comprises about 1.2% of Sirios Capital Management L P’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Sirios Capital Management L P’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $6,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth $707,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,476,003,000 after acquiring an additional 2,068,114 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,327,000 after purchasing an additional 502,349 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,373,856,000 after purchasing an additional 353,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 15,633.2% during the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 353,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,663,000 after purchasing an additional 351,746 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $199.99 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $53.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $215.02 and its 200 day moving average is $226.09. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $130.08 and a 1-year high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. Research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RCL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 target price (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $230.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.84.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 in the last three months. 7.95% of the stock is owned by 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.