Carret Asset Management LLC Has $254,000 Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Carret Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,971 shares of the company’s stock valued at $704,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $737,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jason T. Liberty sold 58,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.95, for a total value of $15,193,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 143,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,514,907.30. This represents a 28.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 directly owns 21,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,539,648.30. The trade was a 41.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Company insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $253.00 target price (down from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $283.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

Royal Caribbean Cruises stock opened at $212.33 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The company has a market capitalization of $57.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12 month low of $125.06 and a 12 month high of $277.08. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $241.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $219.53.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.06%.

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.