Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd decreased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,851 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,724 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $7,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in RCL. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 257.4% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 139,353 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.89, for a total value of $33,150,685.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,167,507 shares in the company, valued at $4,321,868,240.23. This represents a 0.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total transaction of $763,922.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,348 shares in the company, valued at $5,243,287.76. The trade was a 12.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 372,609 shares of company stock worth $87,647,208 over the last quarter. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on RCL shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Macquarie lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $264.39 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 2.59. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $242.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $204.62. 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 1 year low of $113.10 and a 1 year high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the business earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 20.58%.

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.