Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Has $2.43 Million Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 36.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,824 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,176 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $2,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Ostrum Asset Management lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 533 shares of the company's stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the company's stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on RCL. Citigroup boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $268.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $295.00 to $275.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Friday, April 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $279.00 price target on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $276.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.10, for a total transaction of $4,960,760.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 165,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,868,055.10. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 1.9%

RCL traded up $5.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $276.54. The stock had a trading volume of 1,945,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,272,563. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $222.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.14. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $130.08 and a 1-year high of $277.08. 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 (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors 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 yield of 1.08%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is presently 24.92%.

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

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.