Woodline Partners LP Acquires Shares of 14,855 Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 14,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,427,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at $707,833,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,072,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,476,003,000 after purchasing an additional 2,068,114 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 3,544.4% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 963,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $222,166,000 after purchasing an additional 936,609 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 2,653,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,080,000 after purchasing an additional 513,702 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 138.9% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 864,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,327,000 after purchasing an additional 502,349 shares during the period. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.10, for a total transaction of $4,960,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 165,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,868,055.10. The trade was a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 0.8%

RCL stock opened at $240.35 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 firm has a market capitalization of $65.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.12. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a twelve month low of $130.08 and a twelve month high of $277.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.07.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.53 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $4 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.77 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is presently 24.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on RCL. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating and a $230.00 target price on the stock. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $295.00 to $275.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $272.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $232.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.95.

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.