California State Teachers Retirement System Has $79.73 Million Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

California State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 345,612 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,192 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.13% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $79,729,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 in the last three months. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on RCL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $249.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Melius Research raised Royal Caribbean Cruises to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $272.55.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RCL traded up $5.93 on Thursday, hitting $220.84. The stock had a trading volume of 2,206,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,302,468. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17. The company has a market capitalization of $59.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $130.08 and a twelve month high of $277.08. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $210.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.83.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.77 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

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.