Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 11,591 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 366,510 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,591 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.14% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $84,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the insider now owns 21,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,539,648.30. This trade represents a 41.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83% 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. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 3.8%

Shares of RCL traded up $8.97 on Monday, reaching $242.23. The stock had a trading volume of 2,560,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,304,494. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12. 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 50-day simple moving average of $208.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $228.83. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $130.08 and a 12-month high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.02 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. 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 business posted $1.77 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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 leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is presently 24.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RCL. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $295.00 to $275.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "hold" rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $271.30.

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.