Symmetry Investments LP Buys New Shares in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Symmetry Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 11,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,549,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company's stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 1,804 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,530,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth about $231,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 353,893 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,027 shares of the company's stock worth $67,137,000 after acquiring an additional 7,740 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL traded up $1.06 during trading on Monday, reaching $213.03. 1,211,731 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,299,752. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $130.08 and a 1 year 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $211.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $226.84. The company has a market capitalization of $57.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.26.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.86, for a total transaction of $3,925,805.12. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last quarter. Insiders own 7.95% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on RCL shares. Tigress Financial lifted their price target 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. Susquehanna reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Monday, March 31st. They set a "hold" rating and a $230.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $272.85.

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.