IPG Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

IPG Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 25.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,330 shares of the company’s stock after selling 456 shares during the period. IPG Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of RCL. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,036 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $630,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on RCL. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus increased their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Loop Capital raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $282.33.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $207.35 on Friday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $125.06 and a fifty-two week high of $277.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $238.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $223.72. The stock has a market cap of $55.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share 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 prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. This is an increase 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 is 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

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.