Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Shares Purchased by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,438,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 102,370 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.17% of Royal Bank of Canada worth $293,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 45.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on RY. CIBC upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:RY traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $121.23. The stock had a trading volume of 863,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,093,235. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of $100.32 and a 1 year high of $128.05. The firm's 50 day moving average is $114.67 and its 200-day moving average is $119.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $171.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th will be issued a $1.0251 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.18%.

About Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, including auto financing, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses.