Wiser Advisor Group LLC Grows Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Wiser Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,359 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 85 shares during the quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after buying an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 66,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,581,000 after buying an additional 14,954 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $239,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 10,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after buying an additional 1,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $246.04 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $121.58 and a 52-week high of $277.08. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $66.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $244.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.48.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on RCL. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 price target (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. This 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 valued at $28,571,705 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.