Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Announces Dividend Increase - $1.12 Per Share

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 30th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th will be paid a dividend of 1.1152 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $4.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 24th. This is a 8.8% increase from Royal Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.03.

Royal Bank of Canada has raised its dividend payment by an average of 8.7% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Royal Bank of Canada has a dividend payout ratio of 41.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Royal Bank of Canada to earn $10.10 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.27 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 42.3%.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock traded down $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $127.57. 1,023,933 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,135,470. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Royal Bank of Canada has a twelve month low of $102.44 and a twelve month high of $129.46. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $119.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.89.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.25 by ($0.05). Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 15.26% and a net margin of 12.08%. The company had revenue of $11.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 9.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY by 33.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,313 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 575 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Cibc World Mkts raised Royal Bank of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating for the company. National Bank Financial cut Royal Bank of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen cut Royal Bank of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, CIBC reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.50.

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.