LPL Financial LLC Has $46.37 Million Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

LPL Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 200,996 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,306 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $46,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on RCL shares. Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 target price (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Macquarie upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.33.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 1.2 %

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $217.23 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $125.06 and a 12 month high of $277.08. The stock has a market cap of $58.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $239.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $222.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 28.06%.

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

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 21,155 shares in the company, valued at $5,539,648.30. This trade represents a 41.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 7.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.