Rempart Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,879 Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Rempart Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 214,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,879 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada makes up about 5.0% of Rempart Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Rempart Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $24,130,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RY. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $279,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,712 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter worth approximately $215,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 78.7% in the fourth quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,923 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 433,017 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,184,000 after acquiring an additional 75,018 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Royal Bank of Canada from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Cibc World Mkts raised Royal Bank of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. CIBC reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. National Bank Financial cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

RY traded up $1.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $126.66. 1,359,802 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,136,199. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52 week low of $102.44 and a 52 week high of $129.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $118.80 and a 200 day moving average of $119.65. The stock has a market cap of $179.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.89.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY last released its quarterly earnings results 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 15.26% and a net margin of 12.08%. The firm had revenue of $11.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.92 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 9.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.1152 per share. This represents a $4.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Royal Bank of Canada's payout ratio is 46.18%.

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.