Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 13 analysts: eight recommend buying, four rate it a hold, and one gives it a strong buy. The average 12-month price target is C$292.86.
• Several brokerages recently raised their price targets, with recommendations reaching as high as C$324, while the stock opened at C$285.20 and has a 52-week range of C$199.27 to C$306.38.
• RBC increased its quarterly dividend to C$1.76 per share, representing an annualized payout of C$7.04 and a 2.5% yield. Recent insider activity was heavily weighted toward selling, totaling 292,398 shares valued at approximately C$84.2 million over three months.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY - Get Free Report) NYSE: RY has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$292.86.

Several research firms have commented on RY. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$275.00 to C$280.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. TD reduced their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$307.00 to C$306.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$316.00 to C$324.00 in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Scotia boosted their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$311.00 to C$312.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$260.00 to C$300.00 in a research note on Friday, August 21st.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of RY stock opened at C$285.20 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of C$292.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$264.47. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52 week low of C$199.27 and a 52 week high of C$306.38. The company has a market cap of C$394.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.94.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY - Get Free Report) NYSE: RY last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The financial services provider reported C$4.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$18.54 billion for the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 16.11% and a net margin of 15.92%. Analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 12.3454675 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 24th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a dividend of $1.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 27th. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Royal Bank of Canada's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.49%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Bank of Canada

In other Royal Bank of Canada news, insider Kelly Bradley sold 5,142 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$283.07, for a total value of C$1,455,545.94. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 1,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$295,242.01. The trade was a 83.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, Director David Ian Mckay sold 133,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$287.21, for a total transaction of C$38,236,267.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 5,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$1,686,784.33. The trade was a 95.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders sold 292,398 shares of company stock valued at $84,179,616 in the last three months.

About Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 101,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our more than 19 million clients in Canada, the U.S.

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