V Square Quantitative Management LLC Cuts Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC decreased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,350 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on RCL shares. Argus increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 230,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.62, for a total transaction of $53,732,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,556,860 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 392,109 shares of company stock valued at $92,652,468 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE RCL opened at $262.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $113.10 and a 52 week high of $277.08. 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $243.47 and a two-hundred 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 EPS 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 prior year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. 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. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.58%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership 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.