KBC Group NV Acquires 8,426 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,033 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 8,426 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $21,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of RCL. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,373,856,000 after purchasing an additional 353,893 shares during the period. Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at $4,221,000. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,122,000. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter valued at $266,000. Finally, Western Financial Corp CA grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 25.0% during the first quarter. Western Financial Corp CA now owns 8,615 shares of the company's stock worth $1,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,725 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 165,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,868,055.10. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 6.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

RCL stock traded up $11.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $326.17. 2,938,438 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,353,863. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 2.17. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $130.08 and a 12 month high of $327.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.53 by $0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 19.38% and a return on equity of 47.89%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.77 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on RCL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $249.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group set a $311.00 target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "hold" rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $268.00 to $318.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Four 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $280.40.

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.