Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Buys 1,042 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,597 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $12,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. National Pension Service raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,327,000 after purchasing an additional 502,349 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,556,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2,042.8% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 122,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,349,000 after purchasing an additional 117,152 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.2% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 161,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,703,000 after purchasing an additional 93,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at about $14,544,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $215.76 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $240.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.17. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $125.06 and a one year high of $277.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its 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 return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on RCL. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. StockNews.com raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on 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. Argus boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Macquarie boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.53.

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.