Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 62,447 Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 955,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 62,447 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Royal Bank of Canada worth $97,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 26,666,961 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,330,506,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,038 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 1,369,723 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,220,441,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,127,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,645,444,000 after purchasing an additional 717,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,335,000. 45.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

RY traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $98.16. The company had a trading volume of 502,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,261,320. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $138.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a twelve month low of $77.90 and a twelve month high of $103.88. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $99.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.87.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 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 company had revenue of $9.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.10 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 a boost 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 4.16%. Royal Bank of Canada's payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.