TIAA Trust National Association Purchases Shares of 1,179 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Corebridge Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 63,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,256 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,476,003,000 after buying an additional 2,068,114 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at about $19,027,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at about $388,000. Finally, Plancorp LLC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth about $218,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 185,021 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,491,190.28. The trade was a 9.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 14,992 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 21,155 shares in the company, 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 109,492 shares of company stock worth $28,571,705. Corporate insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on RCL shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $270.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $253.00 target price (down previously from $255.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $282.33.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 4.6 %

RCL opened at $207.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $238.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.27. The company has a market capitalization of $55.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 52 week low of $125.06 and a 52 week high of $277.08.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 1.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

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.