New England Research & Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

New England Research & Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $719,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,036 shares of the company's stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Ostrum Asset Management boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Ostrum Asset Management now owns 11,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,678,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $630,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 350 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.10, for a total transaction of $4,960,760.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 165,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,868,055.10. The trade was a 10.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL traded down $7.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $257.77. 2,791,111 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,287,772. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $232.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.14. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $130.08 and a twelve month high of $279.89. 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 (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. The company had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.77 earnings per share. Royal Caribbean Cruises's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on RCL. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $295.00 to $275.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $249.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $262.00 price target for the company. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, April 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $279.00 price target for the company. 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $276.90.

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.