LMR Partners LLP Takes $311,000 Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the company's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded down $2.22 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $253.20. 917,994 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,288,688. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $212.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.06. 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 Ltd. has a one year low of $130.08 and a one year high of $277.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.76 billion, a PE ratio of 23.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.92%.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at $11,021,265.74. The trade was a 28.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 89,992 shares of company stock worth $23,566,445. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on RCL. Mizuho restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $253.00 target price (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Macquarie lowered their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $300.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $271.45.

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.