Boothbay Fund Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Boothbay Fund Management LLC cut its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 96.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,332 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,207 shares during the quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $707,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company's stock worth $6,476,003,000 after buying an additional 2,068,114 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company's stock worth $199,327,000 after buying an additional 502,349 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company's stock worth $1,373,856,000 after buying an additional 353,893 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 15,633.2% during the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 353,996 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,663,000 after buying an additional 351,746 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RCL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $295.00 to $275.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $262.00 target price for the company. Macquarie increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho restated an "outperform" rating and set a $253.00 price objective (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $249.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $273.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 90 days. Insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL stock traded down $3.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $225.61. 1,446,301 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,296,970. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $130.08 and a 12-month high of $277.08. The stock's 50 day moving average is $209.21 and its 200 day moving average is $227.75. The company has a market cap of $61.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.92%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.