Investment Management Corp of Ontario Boosts Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) by 96.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,914 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,796 shares during the quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario's holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $3,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,712,610 shares of the company's stock worth $6,854,905,000 after purchasing an additional 278,860 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,476,003,000 after buying an additional 2,068,114 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company's stock worth $1,373,856,000 after acquiring an additional 353,893 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth about $707,833,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.0% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 513,702 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $249.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $295.00 to $275.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $305.00 to $245.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $271.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at $11,021,265.74. The trade was a 28.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 owns 21,155 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. This represents a 41.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 89,992 shares of company stock valued at $23,566,445. Insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Performance

NYSE RCL traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $250.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,434,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,288,422. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $130.08 and a 12 month high of $277.08. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $210.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $229.11. 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 market cap of $67.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.77 EPS. Royal Caribbean Cruises's revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Royal Caribbean Cruises's dividend payout ratio is 24.92%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership 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.