HighTower Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Royal Bank Of Canada $RY

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Royal Bank Of Canada by 4.4% in Q1, owning 106,672 shares worth approximately $12 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Royal Bank Of Canada reported earnings of $2.20 per share for the last quarter, missing analyst expectations, with quarterly revenue significantly lower than anticipated at $11.38 billion.
• The bank will increase its quarterly dividend to $1.1152, yielding 3.3%, with the next payment scheduled for August 22nd.

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 106,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,456 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Royal Bank Of Canada were worth $12,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Baskin Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 5.0% during the first quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. now owns 62,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,079,000 after buying an additional 3,006 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 1.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 341,776 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,525,000 after buying an additional 3,767 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 4.0% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 86,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,789,000 after buying an additional 3,358 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 4.4% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,458,212 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $727,970,000 after buying an additional 271,531 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Counsel Inc grew its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 24.4% during the first quarter. Capital Investment Counsel Inc now owns 10,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,144,000 after buying an additional 1,989 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Bank Of Canada Stock Performance

NYSE RY traded up $0.1690 on Wednesday, reaching $136.4890. The stock had a trading volume of 615,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,238,326. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. Royal Bank Of Canada has a 12-month low of $106.10 and a 12-month high of $137.25. The business's 50-day moving average price is $131.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.97. The stock has a market cap of $191.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.89.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.25 by ($0.05). Royal Bank Of Canada had a net margin of 13.37% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The firm had revenue of $11.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.92 EPS. Royal Bank Of Canada's quarterly revenue was up 10.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Royal Bank Of Canada will post 9.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank Of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be paid a $1.1152 dividend. This is an increase from Royal Bank Of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Royal Bank Of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 31st. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a report on Thursday, August 14th. National Bank Financial downgraded Royal Bank Of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. CIBC reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a report on Friday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank Of Canada presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.00.

Royal Bank Of Canada Company Profile

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.