Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 14,476 Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY by 146.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,368 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,476 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $2,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Carr Financial Group Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $204,000. Optas LLC bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 478,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,380,000 after buying an additional 10,109 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,257,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an "equal weight" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $137.67.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Up 1.0 %

Royal Bank of Canada stock traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $97.86. 792,330 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,181,160. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of $77.90 and a 12 month high of $103.88. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $98.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.05. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The firm had revenue of $9.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.10 billion. Analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $1.0207 per share. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Royal Bank of Canada's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.66%.

Royal Bank of Canada Company Profile

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.