FORA Capital LLC Acquires New Stake in Royal Bank Of Canada $RY

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC invested approximately $2.13 million in Royal Bank of Canada, acquiring 18,865 shares in the 1st quarter of this year.
• Royal Bank of Canada reported $2.20 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations of $2.25, while revenue was significantly below projections at $11.38 billion.
• The bank announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.1152 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $4.46 and a yield of 3.2%.

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 18,865 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,126,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 129.9% during 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 buying an additional 3,990,839 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 5.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,387,971 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 8.0% during the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 16,802,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,892,975,000 after purchasing an additional 1,249,589 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada during the first quarter worth $114,327,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Bank Of Canada by 299.7% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 841,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $99,930,000 after acquiring an additional 630,969 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company's stock.

Royal Bank Of Canada Stock Down 0.3%

RY stock traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $145.42. 858,667 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,155,505. The stock has a market cap of $204.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Royal Bank Of Canada has a fifty-two week low of $106.10 and a fifty-two week high of $147.64. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $133.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.12.

Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The financial services provider reported $2.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $12.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.03 billion. Royal Bank Of Canada had a return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 14.03%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Royal Bank Of Canada will post 9.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a report on Thursday. National Bank Financial downgraded Royal Bank Of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Royal Bank Of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 31st. Argus raised their price objective on Royal Bank Of Canada from $140.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $177.50.

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.