Signaturefd LLC Sells 977 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Signaturefd LLC reduced its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,232 shares of the company’s stock after selling 977 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 511.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 1,804 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.1% in 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. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 76.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,142,000 after acquiring an additional 12,530 shares during the period. Lorne Steinberg Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at about $231,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 291,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,137,000 after acquiring an additional 7,740 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This trade represents a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RCL shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $271.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Argus upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Loop Capital upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 7.3 %

Shares of RCL opened at $203.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $54.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $240.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $220.90. 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 Ltd. has a 1 year low of $125.06 and a 1 year high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued 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 return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 28.06%.

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.