Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,177 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $1,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 104.6% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 803 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 42,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,717,000 after buying an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 93.4% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 3,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 60.7% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 46,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,445,000 after acquiring an additional 17,633 shares in the last quarter. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RCL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $180.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $250.13.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:RCL opened at $238.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.63. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $113.10 and a 12-month high of $258.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $237.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $197.71. The company has a market capitalization of $64.10 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 2.59.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.15. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 52.92%. The firm had revenue of $4.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.85 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 11.66 EPS for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.61%.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In related news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total transaction of $5,250,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 204,521 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,953,500.42. This represents a 10.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Harri U. Kulovaara sold 3,256 shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.62, for a total value of $763,922.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,243,287.76. The trade was a 12.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 404,332 shares of company stock valued at $94,299,521. 7.95% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.