Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 24,893 Royal Bank Of Canada $RY

Key Points

• Magnetar Financial LLC opened a new position in Royal Bank of Canada, buying 24,893 shares worth about $4.24 million in the fourth quarter.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with 10 Buy ratings and 4 Hold ratings and a consensus target price of $225.
• Royal Bank of Canada reported better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its dividend to $1.76 per share, which works out to an annualized yield of about 3.5%.

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 24,893 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,244,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 60.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,779 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,321,000 after buying an additional 4,460 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 57.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,284 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 1,934 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 39.1% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 13,555 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,783,000 after buying an additional 3,811 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 47,721 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,279,000 after buying an additional 3,928 shares during the period. 45.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Royal Bank Of Canada from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Royal Bank Of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.00.

Royal Bank Of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Bank Of Canada stock opened at $201.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $279.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's 50-day moving average is $183.58 and its 200 day moving average is $172.58. Royal Bank Of Canada has a 1 year low of $126.02 and a 1 year high of $201.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $12.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.74 billion. Royal Bank Of Canada had a net margin of 15.92% and a return on equity of 17.83%. Royal Bank Of Canada's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Bank Of Canada will post 11.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank Of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 24th. Investors of record on Monday, July 27th will be paid a $1.76 dividend. This represents a $7.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 27th. This is a positive change from Royal Bank Of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. Royal Bank Of Canada's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.41%.

About Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada NYSE: RY is a diversified financial services company and one of Canada's largest banks. Founded in 1864 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the firm is now headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutional clients through a network of branches, digital platforms and international offices.

RBC operates across several principal business segments including personal and commercial banking, wealth management, insurance, investor and treasury services, capital markets, and global asset management.

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