Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $528,000 Stock Position in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) by 39.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,288 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 651 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Royal Caribbean Cruises were worth $528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Bay Harbor Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.53% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of RCL stock opened at $205.60 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $237.90 and a 200-day moving average of $224.44. The company has a market capitalization of $55.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 2.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.39. Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has a 12-month low of $125.06 and a 12-month high of $277.08.

Royal Caribbean Cruises (NYSE:RCL) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.13. Royal Caribbean Cruises had a return on equity of 48.97% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. will post 14.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is an increase from Royal Caribbean Cruises’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Royal Caribbean Cruises’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.06%.

Royal Caribbean Cruises declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 12th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 1.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Royal Caribbean Cruises in a report on Thursday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $262.00 price objective for the company. Macquarie boosted their price target on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $250.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $283.00 to $304.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises from $270.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Royal Caribbean Cruises in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.58.

Insider Activity at Royal Caribbean Cruises

In other Royal Caribbean Cruises news, Director Richard D. Fain sold 19,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.68, for a total value of $5,005,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 185,021 shares in the company, valued at $47,491,190.28. This trade represents a 9.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Naftali Holtz sold 17,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.62, for a total transaction of $4,447,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,127 shares in the company, valued at $11,021,265.74. This represents a 28.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 109,492 shares of company stock valued at $28,571,705. Insiders own 7.95% of the company’s stock.

Royal Caribbean Cruises 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.