Earnest Partners LLC Has $29.34 Million Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Earnest Partners LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 127,169 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,225 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $29,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 65.2% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 826 shares of the company's stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,893 shares of the company's stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth about $1,848,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 50.7% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,961 shares of the company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 231,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,312,000 after buying an additional 7,900 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on RCL. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $262.00 price target on the stock. Macquarie boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $253.00 price target (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "hold" rating and a $230.00 price target for the company. Four equities research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $272.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction on 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total value of $3,925,805.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 0.8 %

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock traded down $1.66 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $214.92. The company had a trading volume of 2,716,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,310,794. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1-year low of $130.08 and a 1-year high of $277.08. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $210.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.91. The stock has a market cap of $58.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors 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.