Swedbank AB Raises Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 2,062.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,489 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 51,969 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $12,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 76.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,142,000 after buying an additional 12,530 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 289,518 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,349,000 after buying an additional 7,298 shares during the last quarter. Souders Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth $800,000. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 541.0% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,283,000 after acquiring an additional 8,353 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE:RCL opened at $266.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $239.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $113.10 and a 12-month high of $277.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 20.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total transaction of $763,922.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,243,287.76. This represents a 12.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.62, for a total transaction of $53,732,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,556,860 shares in the company, valued at $4,335,253,633.20. This represents a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 372,609 shares of company stock valued at $87,647,208 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Susquehanna raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 price objective (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.19.

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.