Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 3,589 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 119,532 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,589 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $24,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares during the period. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $231,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 353,893 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,137,000 after buying an additional 7,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $4,221,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on RCL shares. UBS Group set a $311.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Macquarie dropped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $300.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Melius Research upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price target (up from $250.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.10, for a total value of $4,960,760.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 165,421 shares in the company, valued at $41,868,055.10. This trade represents a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $270.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $130.08 and a 12 month high of $279.89.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.92%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs 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.