Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Grows Stock Position in Royal Bank Of Canada $RY

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 6.8% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 158,391 shares worth about $25.6 million.
• Royal Bank of Canada recently posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings, reporting $2.84 EPS versus the $2.81 estimate and revenue of $12.84 billion, up 11.4% year over year.
• The bank also announced a higher quarterly dividend of $1.76 per share, up from $1.64, which implies an annualized dividend yield of about 3.3%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 158,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,080 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Royal Bank Of Canada were worth $25,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Royal Bank Of Canada in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Key Financial Inc raised its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 63.0% in the first quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 163 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Maseco LLP lifted its stake in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 355.0% in the first quarter. Maseco LLP now owns 182 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Royal Bank Of Canada from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a report on Friday, May 29th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial cut Royal Bank Of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank Of Canada presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.00.

Royal Bank Of Canada Stock Performance

Royal Bank Of Canada stock opened at $214.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $196.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.55. The stock has a market cap of $297.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Royal Bank Of Canada has a 1-year low of $127.38 and a 1-year high of $214.48.

Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. Royal Bank Of Canada had a net margin of 15.92% and a return on equity of 17.68%. The firm had revenue of $12.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.12 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Royal Bank Of Canada will post 11.45 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank Of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 27th will be given a $1.76 dividend. 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 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.41%.

Royal Bank Of Canada Profile

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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