Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Purchases 6,865 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 19.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 41,327 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,865 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $11,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the second quarter worth about $31,000. GGM Financials LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 87.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Up 5.3%

RCL opened at $275.09 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $300.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $292.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a one year low of $164.01 and a one year high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The company had revenue of $4.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a boost from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.44%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 10th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RCL. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $290.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $275.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Caribbean Cruises currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $353.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Arne Alexander Wilhelmsen sold 245,476 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.54, for a total value of $76,475,593.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 16,435,910 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,120,443,401.40. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total transaction of $2,562,053.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,786 shares in the company, valued at $10,695,121.06. The trade was a 19.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 1,967,319 shares of company stock worth $626,681,935 over the last three months. 6.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Company Profile

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE: RCL), operating as part of the Royal Caribbean Group, is a global cruise company that develops, markets and operates passenger cruise ships. The company operates multiple consumer-facing cruise brands that offer short- and long-duration itineraries and a range of onboard experiences. Its core activities include itineraries and voyage operations, guest services and hospitality, onboard food and beverage, entertainment and recreation programming, and the commercial activities needed to sell and support cruises through both direct and travel‑agent channels.

Royal Caribbean’s ships serve a broad set of geographies worldwide, regularly deploying vessels in the Caribbean, North America (including Alaska), Europe, Asia, Australia and South America.