Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Reduces Stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 13.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 180,537 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,120 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $37,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of RCL. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 29,712,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,854,905,000 after purchasing an additional 278,860 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,068,114 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,969,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,373,856,000 after purchasing an additional 353,893 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth approximately $707,833,000. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 24.0% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 513,702 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.10, for a total value of $4,960,760.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 165,421 shares in the company, valued at $41,868,055.10. The trade was a 10.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 6.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of RCL opened at $276.54 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $224.35 and its 200 day moving average is $233.03. 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 Ltd. has a 12-month low of $130.08 and a 12-month high of $277.08. The company has a market capitalization of $75.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.14.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 48.97%. The company’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS. Research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s payout ratio is 24.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on RCL. Northcoast Research started coverage on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, April 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $279.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price objective (up previously from $250.00) on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Melius Research upgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Macquarie decreased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $300.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.90.

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.