Achmea Investment Management B.V. Increases Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 115.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,381 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,388 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $7,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vestcor Inc raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 5,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,284,000 after acquiring an additional 895 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 150.7% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,083,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 13,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,073,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $208.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $241.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $219.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $125.06 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The company has a market cap of $55.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (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 company earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date 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 is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on RCL shares. 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 price target (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. This trade represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.