Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Sells 76 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,819 shares of the company’s stock after selling 76 shares during the quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Plato Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on RCL shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $204.00 to $272.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE RCL opened at $207.07 on Wednesday. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $125.06 and a 12-month high of $277.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $242.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. 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 (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 28.06%.

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

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $37,514,907.30. The trade was a 28.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

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.