First Horizon Advisors Inc. Acquires 68 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 437 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RCL. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value 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 $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL stock opened at $244.10 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $244.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.68. 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 52-week low of $121.18 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The stock has a market cap of $65.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 28.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RCL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. They set a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 target price (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.