Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Raises Dividend to $1.12 Per Share

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, May 30th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be given a dividend of 1.1152 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, August 22nd. This represents a $4.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. 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 increased its dividend by an average of 8.7% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 15 consecutive years. Royal Bank of Canada has a dividend payout ratio of 41.9% indicating that 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 Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of RY traded up $1.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $126.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,359,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,134,117. The company has a market cap of $179.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $118.80 and a 200 day moving average of $119.63. 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 1 year low of $102.44 and a 1 year high of $129.46.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $11.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 9.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Royal Bank of Canada stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY by 33.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,313 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 575 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC's holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $279,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. 45.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on RY. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. National Bank Financial cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. CIBC reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.