Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) CFO Naftali Holtz Sells 17,000 Shares

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total value of $4,447,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,021,265.74. This trade represents a 28.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 4.0 %

RCL stock opened at $234.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $63.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $212.86. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $119.48 and a 1-year high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. Analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved 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 buy up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders 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 represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Caribbean Cruises

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% during the fourth 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 last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on RCL shares. Bank of America increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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.