Maritza Gomez Montiel Sells 1,385 Shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) Stock

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 1,385 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.18, for a total value of $453,144.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,849 shares in the company, valued at $4,203,935.82. This represents a 9.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:RCL traded down $4.62 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $319.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,725,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,430,120. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a fifty-two week low of $164.01 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $299.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $303.03. The stock has a market cap of $86.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The company 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%.Royal Caribbean Cruises’s revenue was up 13.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is 38.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $332.00 to $398.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho set a $379.00 price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Royal Caribbean Cruises from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $310.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Royal Caribbean Cruises from $324.00 to $361.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.29.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RCL. Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its position in Royal Caribbean Cruises by 184.4% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 91 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. 87.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises

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.