Commerce Bank Sells 61,934 Shares of 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 decreased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 34.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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 and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,312 shares of the company's stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 53,628 shares of the company's stock worth $12,482,000 after acquiring an additional 17,994 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,716 shares of the company's stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $243,000. Finally, Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $526,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 5,207 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,578,432.22. This trade represents a 39.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 165,421 shares in the company, valued at $41,868,055.10. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $302.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. UBS Group set a $311.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $235.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $321.10.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL traded up $2.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $313.72. The company had a trading volume of 1,371,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,565,911. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $305.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $255.00. 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 firm has a market cap of $85.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.52, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 2.22. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $147.05 and a 12 month high of $355.91.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.04 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $4.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.54 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 47.15% and a net margin of 20.97%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.