Woodline Partners LP Takes $3.43 Million Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 14,855 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,427,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $707,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,476,003,000 after buying an additional 2,068,114 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3,544.4% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 963,034 shares of the company's stock worth $222,166,000 after buying an additional 936,609 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,653,258 shares of the company's stock worth $612,080,000 after buying an additional 513,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company's stock worth $199,327,000 after acquiring an additional 502,349 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on RCL. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Northcoast Research started coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Friday, April 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $279.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $262.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group set a $311.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $271.95.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were 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 now owns 165,421 shares in the company, valued at $41,868,055.10. The trade was a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 1.4%

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded up $3.61 during trading on Thursday, hitting $254.41. The company had a trading volume of 979,291 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,270,205. The stock has a market cap of $69.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $217.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $231.55.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.92%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.