May Hill Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 1,477 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

May Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,477 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $341,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.58.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE RCL opened at $205.60 on Tuesday. 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 one year low of $125.06 and a one year high of $277.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $224.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.33 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities 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 has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

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.