Royal Bank Of Canada $RY Shares Sold by Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc.

Key Points

• Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel trimmed its Royal Bank of Canada stake by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 18,405 shares and leaving it with 871,668 shares worth about $148.8 million.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on RY, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225. Ten analysts rate the stock a Buy, while four rate it Hold.
• RBC reported solid quarterly results and raised its dividend, posting EPS of $2.84 versus estimates of $2.81 and revenue of $12.84 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.76 per share, implying a 3.5% yield.

Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 871,668 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,405 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank Of Canada comprises approximately 4.9% of Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.06% of Royal Bank Of Canada worth $148,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Entropy Technologies LP raised its stake in Royal Bank Of Canada by 58.3% in the 4th quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 3,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Royal Bank Of Canada by 108.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 269,032 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,867,000 after purchasing an additional 139,980 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in Royal Bank Of Canada by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 75,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,874,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Royal Bank Of Canada by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Royal Bank Of Canada by 21.8% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,550 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on RY shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Royal Bank Of Canada from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Argus set a $225.00 target price on Royal Bank Of Canada in a report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut Royal Bank Of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.00.

Royal Bank Of Canada Stock Performance

NYSE RY opened at $199.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $277.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. Royal Bank Of Canada has a twelve month low of $126.02 and a twelve month high of $201.74. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $171.76.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $12.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $12.74 billion. Royal Bank Of Canada had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 15.92%.The company's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.12 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Royal Bank Of Canada will post 11.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank Of Canada Increases Dividend

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