Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 190 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,271 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 190 shares during the quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,476,003,000 after acquiring an additional 2,068,114 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,856,000 after purchasing an additional 353,893 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at $707,833,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,519,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,418,000 after purchasing an additional 48,480 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,327,000 after buying an additional 502,349 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of RCL stock opened at $177.60 on Friday. 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 Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $125.06 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08. The company has a market cap of $47.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $234.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.82.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 in the last quarter. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Argus lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $279.58.

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.