Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 541.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,897 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,353 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $2,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RCL. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 257.4% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter worth $31,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on RCL. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $257.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Macquarie increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $189.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $246.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Henry L. Pujol sold 6,723 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.51, for a total transaction of $1,401,812.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,964 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,077,593.64. The trade was a 40.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 139,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.89, for a total transaction of $33,150,685.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,167,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,321,868,240.23. This trade represents a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 404,332 shares of company stock valued at $94,299,521. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Shares of RCL opened at $241.79 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $237.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $195.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $113.10 and a twelve month high of $258.70. The company has a market cap of $65.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 2.59.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 52.92% and a net margin of 16.21%. The firm had revenue of $4.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.85 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 11.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.61%.

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.