Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $309,000 Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,338 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D1 Capital Partners L.P. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. now owns 1,570,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $278,502,000 after purchasing an additional 58,159 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 725,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,699,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Growth Investors Inc. MN now owns 591,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,918,000 after purchasing an additional 13,520 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 569,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,468,000 after purchasing an additional 18,868 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 353,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,639,000 after purchasing an additional 3,235 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on RCL shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Loop Capital began 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 objective for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced 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 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,021,265.74. This trade represents a 28.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $237.49 on Tuesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $119.48 and a 12-month high of $277.08. The business’s fifty day moving average is $244.24 and its 200 day moving average is $213.89. 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 stock has a market cap of $63.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.