Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Stake Increased by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,649 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $6,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 10.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 85.4% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at $182,000. Conning Inc. bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 48.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL stock opened at $246.04 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $66.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $244.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.35. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $121.58 and a fifty-two week 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.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company earned $1.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.