Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Purchases 4,006 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 196.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,042 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,006 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,395,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in RCL. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,327,000 after buying an additional 502,349 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $69,556,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2,042.8% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 122,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,349,000 after buying an additional 117,152 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 161,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,703,000 after buying an additional 93,899 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at $14,544,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Macquarie upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total transaction of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares in the company, 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 this link. Also, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total transaction of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 5.8 %

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $215.26 on Thursday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52-week low of $125.06 and a 52-week high of $277.08. The company has a market capitalization of $57.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $240.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a current ratio of 0.17.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board 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.