State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Trims Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lowered its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 134,460 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,634 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury owned about 0.05% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $31,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on RCL shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Tigress Financial increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $190.00 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $216.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.27. The company has a market capitalization of $51.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G 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. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $129.54 and a 1 year high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company 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 an increase 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 1.58%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.