Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 89.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,390 shares of the company's stock after selling 109,460 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $3,468,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.4% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 562 shares of the company's stock valued at $182,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. EWA LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.6% during the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 794 shares of the company's stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.1% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 918 shares of the company's stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,824 shares of the company's stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have commented on RCL shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $361.00 to $351.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $352.89.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Royal Caribbean Cruises
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 90,910 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.81, for a total transaction of $29,710,297.10. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 218,822 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,513,217.82. This trade represents a 29.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 356,026 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.39, for a total transaction of $113,355,118.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,681,386 shares in the company, valued at $5,311,186,488.54. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935. Insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.
Key Stories Impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises
Here are the key news stories impacting Royal Caribbean Cruises this week:
Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance
Shares of RCL stock opened at $266.32 on Monday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $203.85 and a 52-week high of $366.50. The stock has a market cap of $71.42 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a current ratio of 0.18. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $284.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $286.87.
Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. The company had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 23.80% and a return on equity of 45.06%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 17.35 EPS for the current year.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is 38.44%.
About Royal Caribbean Cruises
(
Free Report)
Royal Caribbean Cruises NYSE: RCL, operating as part of the Royal Caribbean Group, is a global cruise company that develops, markets and operates passenger cruise ships. The company operates multiple consumer-facing cruise brands that offer short- and long-duration itineraries and a range of onboard experiences. Its core activities include itineraries and voyage operations, guest services and hospitality, onboard food and beverage, entertainment and recreation programming, and the commercial activities needed to sell and support cruises through both direct and travel‑agent channels.
Royal Caribbean's ships serve a broad set of geographies worldwide, regularly deploying vessels in the Caribbean, North America (including Alaska), Europe, Asia, Australia and South America.
See Also
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