MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $15.90 Million Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,916 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,590 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $15,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in RCL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on RCL shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $253.00 price target (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Argus raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $272.85.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE:RCL traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $212.15. 1,492,922 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,305,724. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $130.08 and a twelve month high of $277.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $211.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises's payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total value of $4,447,540.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,021,265.74. The trade was a 28.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares of the company's stock, valued at $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

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.