Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 114,592 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,500 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $23,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the 4th 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. Revisor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,525,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,221,000. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,122,000. Finally, Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 1st quarter worth approximately $266,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RCL traded up $8.37 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $347.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,060,407 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,354,620. The firm has a market cap of $94.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.88, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 2.17. 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 Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $130.08 and a fifty-two week high of $347.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $279.35 and a 200-day moving average of $244.46.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is 24.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on RCL. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $295.00 to $275.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $235.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $297.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the firm'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 value of $4,960,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 165,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,868,055.10. This trade represents a 10.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 6.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.