Hanlon Investment Management Inc. Takes Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Hanlon Investment Management Inc. 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 Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $893,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $707,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% during the fourth 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. National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $199,327,000 after purchasing an additional 502,349 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% in 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. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 15,633.2% during the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 353,996 shares of the company's stock worth $81,663,000 after buying an additional 351,746 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $265.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Macquarie upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $276.95.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE RCL traded up $0.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $192.52. 1,167,960 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,338,343. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $127.20 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The firm has a market cap of $51.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $217.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $225.48.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.