Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Sells 152,377 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD decreased its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,340,619 shares of the company's stock after selling 152,377 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.50% of Royal Caribbean Cruises worth $309,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 618.8% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 115 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 200 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RCL traded up $7.97 on Thursday, reaching $222.88. 722,287 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,304,755. The company's 50 day moving average is $210.01 and its 200-day moving average is $226.83. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $60.51 billion, a PE ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $130.08 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.06%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Loop Capital raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $249.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $272.55.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 21,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This trade represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

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.