Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Position Lessened by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 395,121 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,742 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $91,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on RCL shares. Macquarie increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. 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 objective for the company. Loop Capital raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:RCL opened at $205.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $125.06 and a 1-year 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 EPS 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 previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

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

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.