1248 Management LLC Invests $1.33 Million in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

1248 Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,332,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 1,804 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111 shares in the last quarter. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $231,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,856,000 after purchasing an additional 353,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,137,000 after purchasing an additional 7,740 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on RCL shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Macquarie upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $272.55.

Insider Activity

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

NYSE RCL opened at $220.84 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $130.08 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $227.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company has a market cap of $59.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was 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 dividend yield of 1.36%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 28.06%.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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.