Man Group plc Buys 70,905 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Man Group plc increased its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 537.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,105 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 70,905 shares during the period. Man Group plc's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $19,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on RCL shares. Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $253.00 target price (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $249.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Melius Research raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Loop Capital raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $301.00 to $311.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $271.95.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded down $5.04 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $248.99. The company had a trading volume of 1,363,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,281,387. The firm has a market cap of $67.62 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12. 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 one year low of $130.08 and a one year high of $277.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $212.98 and a 200 day moving average of $230.42.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.77 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.92%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were 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 directly owns 165,421 shares of the company's stock, 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 this link. 7.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.