Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Stock Holdings Trimmed by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,209,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 392,434 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada makes up approximately 3.1% of National Bank of Canada FI's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 1.36% of Royal Bank of Canada worth $1,929,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 131.0% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on RY shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an "equal weight" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered 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 assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Royal Bank of Canada currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $137.67.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE RY traded up $1.95 during trading on Friday, hitting $101.17. The stock had a trading volume of 2,470,596 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,154,479. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.21. Royal Bank of Canada has a one year low of $77.90 and a one year high of $103.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $9.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.10 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.43%. Sell-side analysts predict that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.45 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, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.0207 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada's payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

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.