Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from ten research firms, with six analysts recommending a buy, three holding, and one giving a strong buy rating.
• The average 1-year target price for the bank's shares is set at C$206.00, with several firms recently raising their target prices—most notably Scotiabank's increase to C$210.00.
• The bank recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.54 per share, up from $1.48, leading to an annualized dividend of $6.16 and a dividend yield of 3.1%.

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY - Get Free Report) NYSE: RY have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$206.00.

RY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$190.00 to C$203.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$201.00 to C$219.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. CIBC upped their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$195.00 to C$208.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$198.00 to C$196.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, National Bank Financial downgraded Royal Bank of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Senior Officer Graeme Ashley Hepworth sold 308 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$182.30, for a total value of C$56,148.92. Also, Senior Officer Jennifer Kristine Publicover sold 401 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$182.30, for a total transaction of C$73,102.98. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 152 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$27,709.86. This trade represents a 72.51% decrease in their position. Insiders sold a total of 42,026 shares of company stock valued at $7,517,844 over the last three months.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of TSE:RY traded up C$1.44 during trading on Tuesday, hitting C$200.97. 1,598,800 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,360,937. The company has a market cap of C$283.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$183.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$173.13. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52-week low of C$151.25 and a 52-week high of C$204.60.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.78%.

About Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada is one of the two largest banks in Canada. It is a diversified financial services company, offering personal and commercial banking, wealth-management services, insurance, corporate banking, and capital markets services. The bank is concentrated in Canada, with additional operations in the U.S.