Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $18.91 Million Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,965 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,112 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $18,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,712,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,854,905,000 after purchasing an additional 278,860 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,476,003,000 after acquiring an additional 2,068,114 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 353,893 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at $707,833,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,653,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $612,080,000 after acquiring an additional 513,702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE RCL traded down $4.69 on Wednesday, reaching $250.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,980,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,274,601. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $216.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $130.08 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The company has a market capitalization of $68.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.18. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. The firm had revenue of $4 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.77 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.92%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on RCL. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $272.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Argus lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Loop Capital raised Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $249.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Northcoast Research assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, April 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $279.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $271.95.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 165,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,868,055.10. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.