Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Bought by Junto Capital Management LP

Junto Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 135.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 535,218 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 308,113 shares during the period. Royal Caribbean Cruises accounts for approximately 2.4% of Junto Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Junto Capital Management LP owned about 0.20% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $123,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,641 shares of the company's stock worth $2,455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,211 shares during the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $693,000. Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 115.3% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 9,272 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,139,000 after purchasing an additional 4,965 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 784,338 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,939,000 after purchasing an additional 202,756 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.0% in 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 buying an additional 513,702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RCL. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Northcoast Research began coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, April 25th. They set a "buy" rating and a $279.00 price target for the company. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $249.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas started 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 target on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $271.30.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 1.5%

RCL stock traded up $3.77 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $251.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 195,806 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,676,440. The company's fifty day moving average price is $209.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $228.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $130.08 and a twelve month high of $277.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders 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 1.19%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is presently 24.92%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company 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.