Versant Capital Management Inc Has $639,000 Stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY by 816.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,673 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,054 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc's holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,425,519,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,382,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,027,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991,364 shares in the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 1,600.9% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 1,427,075 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $166,084,000 after buying an additional 1,343,174 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,183,549 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,136,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104,975 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,112,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,338,156,000 after purchasing an additional 921,276 shares during the period. 45.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RY has been the topic of several research reports. CIBC reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Scotiabank began coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. National Bank Financial cut Royal Bank of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised Royal Bank of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Royal Bank of Canada stock traded up $1.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $127.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 599,642 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,320,834. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.89. Royal Bank of Canada has a twelve month low of $102.44 and a twelve month high of $129.46. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $118.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.61.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.20 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $15.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.92 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.1152 per share. This represents a $4.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 24th. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Royal Bank of Canada's dividend 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.