Fisher Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 34,915 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 34,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,055,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 85.4% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $182,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 48.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 126,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 7.7% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 41,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,373,000 after buying an additional 2,956 shares during the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RCL. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $253.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 completion of 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. Insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 in the last quarter. 7.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL stock opened at $226.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $244.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $217.40. The stock has a market cap of $61.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.59. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $124.24 and a one 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.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.06%.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.