New England Research & Management Inc. Takes $760,000 Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. $RCL

New England Research & Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $760,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 32,949,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,662,989,000 after purchasing an additional 308,330 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,066,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,728,810,000 after purchasing an additional 461,990 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,576,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,433,052,000 after purchasing an additional 84,202 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,317,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,038,997,000 after purchasing an additional 284,037 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,021,893,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, insider Laura H. Bethge sold 7,854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $326.21, for a total value of $2,562,053.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 32,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,695,121.06. This trade represents a 19.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total transaction of $453,144.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,849 shares in the company, valued at $4,203,935.82. The trade was a 9.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 1,967,319 shares of company stock valued at $626,681,935 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Price Performance

RCL opened at $262.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.18 and a quick ratio of 0.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $301.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $297.10. The firm has a market cap of $71.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.87. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 1 year low of $164.01 and a 1 year high of $366.50.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $4.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.28 billion. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 45.06% and a net margin of 23.80%.The business’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 10th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho set a $379.00 price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Caribbean Cruises presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.52.

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.