Erste Asset Management GmbH Trims Holdings in Royal Bank Of Canada $RY

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH has reduced its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 47.7%, selling 33,700 shares and leaving it with a total of 36,900 shares valued at approximately $4.2 million.
• The Royal Bank of Canada reported Q2 earnings of $2.20 EPS, falling short of analyst expectations of $2.25, with revenue of $11.38 billion compared to expectations of $15.77 billion.
• The bank announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.1152 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $4.46 and a yield of 3.3%.

Erste Asset Management GmbH trimmed its holdings in Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY by 47.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 33,700 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Royal Bank Of Canada were worth $4,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in RY. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 129.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,063,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $796,227,000 after acquiring an additional 3,990,839 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 5.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 62,571,520 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,048,307,000 after buying an additional 3,387,971 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Royal Bank Of Canada by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 16,802,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,892,975,000 after buying an additional 1,249,589 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Royal Bank Of Canada during the 1st quarter valued at $114,327,000. Finally, QV Investors Inc. bought a new stake in Royal Bank Of Canada during the 1st quarter valued at $51,164,000. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on RY. National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a report on Friday, August 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Royal Bank Of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 31st. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Royal Bank Of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "sector outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a report on Thursday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank Of Canada has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.00.

Royal Bank Of Canada Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE RY traded down $1.6190 during trading on Monday, hitting $136.2610. The company had a trading volume of 845,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,230,081. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Royal Bank Of Canada has a one year low of $106.10 and a one year high of $138.34. The company has a market cap of $191.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.89. The company's fifty day moving average is $131.87 and its 200-day moving average is $123.37.

Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.25 by ($0.05). Royal Bank Of Canada had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 13.37%.The company had revenue of $11.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Royal Bank Of Canada will post 9.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank Of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were given a $1.1152 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $4.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Royal Bank Of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Royal Bank Of Canada's payout ratio is currently 50.33%.

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.