Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Purchased by Everhart Financial Group Inc.

Everhart Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,155 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,651,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 457 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. DT Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 350 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, FSM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $262.99 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $113.10 and a one year high of $277.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $243.57 and a 200-day moving average of $208.77. The company 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $763,922.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,243,287.76. The trade was a 12.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 392,109 shares of company stock worth $92,652,468 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on RCL shares. Macquarie increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.12.

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.