Ethic Inc. Increases Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Ethic Inc. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 115.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,272 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,965 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $2,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $707,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,476,003,000 after purchasing an additional 2,068,114 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,653,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,080,000 after purchasing an additional 513,702 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% during the fourth 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. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 worth $1,373,856,000 after purchasing an additional 353,893 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of RCL opened at $233.69 on Monday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $130.08 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.54. The company has a market capitalization of $63.46 billion, a PE ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 24.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RCL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.30.

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.