Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 3,387,971 Shares of Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 5.7%, owning over 62 million shares valued at approximately $7 billion as of the latest SEC filings.
• Royal Bank of Canada recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.1152 per share, up from $1.03, resulting in a yield of 3.4% for investors.
• The company's latest earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.20, which fell short of analysts' expectations, despite a year-over-year revenue increase of 10.7%.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY by 5.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 62,571,520 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,387,971 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 4.43% of Royal Bank Of Canada worth $7,048,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 129.9% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 7,063,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $796,227,000 after acquiring an additional 3,990,839 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 16,802,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,892,975,000 after acquiring an additional 1,249,589 shares in the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada during the 1st quarter valued at about $51,164,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 64.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,120,456 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $135,026,000 after acquiring an additional 439,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 100,405.3% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 361,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,784,000 after acquiring an additional 361,459 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Bank Of Canada Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RY traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $132.52. The company had a trading volume of 1,848,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,203,607. Royal Bank Of Canada has a 52 week low of $106.10 and a 52 week high of $134.26. The stock has a market cap of $186.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business's 50 day moving average price is $130.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $122.33.

Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 13.37%. The company had revenue of $11.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. 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 business also recently announced 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 a boost from Royal Bank Of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada's payout ratio is presently 50.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a report on Monday, June 9th. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of Royal Bank Of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. CIBC reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Royal Bank Of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Royal Bank Of Canada has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $193.00.

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.