Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Receives $137.67 Average PT from Analysts

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $137.67.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Canoe Financial LP increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 11,061.2% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 151,142,403 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,285,031,000 after purchasing an additional 149,788,224 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,730,646 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,534,910,000 after buying an additional 1,603,427 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 21.7% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 32,571,491 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,310,010,000 after buying an additional 5,810,077 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 28,024,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,834,219,000 after buying an additional 1,357,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 26,869,809 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,718,631,000 after buying an additional 1,369,723 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company's stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Down 1.8 %

RY stock traded down $1.82 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $98.54. The stock had a trading volume of 826,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,209,719. The firm has a market cap of $139.40 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12-month low of $77.90 and a 12-month high of $103.88. The company's 50-day moving average price is $98.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $9.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.10 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 14.74%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $1.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Royal Bank of Canada's payout ratio is currently 37.66%.

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.