Wesleyan Assurance Society Has $6.42 Million Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Wesleyan Assurance Society lessened its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,250 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,500 shares during the quarter. Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $6,421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted 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 worth $1,373,856,000 after purchasing an additional 353,893 shares during the last quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,525,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,221,000. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,122,000. Finally, Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the first quarter valued at approximately $266,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on RCL shares. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $262.00 price objective on the stock. Loop Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $290.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $230.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Five equities research 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $311.05.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE RCL traded down $3.30 on Thursday, hitting $349.55. 1,180,002 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,559,923. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 2.17. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $130.08 and a twelve month high of $355.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The company's 50 day moving average price is $290.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $248.55.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 165,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,868,055.10. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.