Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Shares Acquired by Natixis Advisors L.P.

Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY by 35.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 101,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,300 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.'s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $10,269,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.4% in the third 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. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 26,869,809 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,718,631,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369,723 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 13.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 26,666,961 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,330,506,000 after acquiring an additional 3,062,038 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 12,413,445 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,088,176,000 after acquiring an additional 106,757 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,590,914 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $929,810,000 after purchasing an additional 166,968 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company's stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of RY traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $103.09. 618,623 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,216,133. The stock has a market cap of $145.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1-year low of $77.90 and a 1-year high of $103.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $99.43 and a 200-day moving average of $95.69. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $9.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.10 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.43%. Analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.0207 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.96%. Royal Bank of Canada's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on RY shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays started coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $137.67.

Royal Bank of Canada 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.