Formidable Asset Management LLC Acquires New Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Formidable Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at about $707,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,068,114 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3,544.4% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 963,034 shares of the company's stock valued at $222,166,000 after buying an additional 936,609 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,653,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $612,080,000 after buying an additional 513,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew 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 valued at $199,327,000 after buying an additional 502,349 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.10, for a total value of $4,960,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 165,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,868,055.10. This trade represents a 10.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 0.3%

RCL traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $255.18. 952,596 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,269,368. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $130.08 and a 12-month high of $277.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $218.02 and a 200 day moving average of $231.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The firm has a market cap of $69.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during 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%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.77 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on RCL shares. Loop Capital raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $272.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BNP Paribas started coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $262.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Northcoast Research started coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, April 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $279.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $271.95.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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.