Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Shares Sold by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Level Four Advisory Services LLC cut its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,530 shares of the company’s stock after selling 226 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. denkapparat Operations GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter worth $215,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 12,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,878,000 after acquiring an additional 2,893 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 16.0% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 145,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,645,000 after acquiring an additional 20,133 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 22.6% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 198,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,758,000 after acquiring an additional 36,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at about $707,833,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL opened at $205.60 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $125.06 and a 1 year high of $277.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $237.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.44. The stock has a market cap of $55.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. 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 (DPR) is presently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RCL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Monday. They set a “hold” rating and a $230.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. BNP Paribas began coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total value of $4,447,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,021,265.74. This represents a 28.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last 90 days. 7.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.