Commerce Bank Trims Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Key Points

• Commerce Bank reduced its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 34.7%, selling 61,934 shares and leaving it with 116,615 shares valued at approximately $23.95 million.
• Analysts remain optimistic about Royal Caribbean, with several firms raising their price targets significantly, including Bank of America's raise from $230 to $355 and Citigroup's increase from $390 to $399.
• Royal Caribbean announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, yielding about 1.0%, reflecting a payout ratio of 22.49% as it continues to show strong financial performance.

Commerce Bank lessened its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 34.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,615 shares of the company's stock after selling 61,934 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $23,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter worth $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Optimum Investment Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL stock traded down $3.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $314.12. The company had a trading volume of 2,827,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,306,951. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 0.23 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $302.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $254.09. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $130.08 and a 52-week high of $355.91. The company has a market capitalization of $85.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 2.22.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.04 by $0.34. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 20.97% and a return on equity of 47.15%. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.21 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is 22.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the company'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 transaction of $4,960,760.00. Following the sale, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 5,207 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $329.47, for a total value of $1,715,550.29. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,578,432.22. This represents a 39.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.95% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $390.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating and set a $385.00 price target (up previously from $275.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $235.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $321.10.

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.