AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Buys 117,152 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 2,042.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 122,887 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 117,152 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $28,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 257.4% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 1.1 %

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $262.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.71 billion, a PE ratio of 24.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $113.10 and a twelve month 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $243.47 and a 200-day moving average of $208.02.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were 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 owns 22,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,243,287.76. This represents a 12.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 18,556,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,335,253,633.20. The trade was a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 392,109 shares of company stock worth $92,652,468. 7.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RCL. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.12.

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.