Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 12 brokerages, with eight buy ratings, three holds, and one strong buy. The average 1-year price target is C$262.96.
• Several analysts recently raised their price targets, including Jefferies, Desjardins, Raymond James, Scotiabank, and TD, reflecting improving sentiment on the stock.
• The bank recently increased its quarterly dividend to C$1.76 per share from C$1.64, while insiders have also been active sellers in recent months, including a large sale by director David Ian Mckay.

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY - Get Free Report) NYSE: RY have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$262.96.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$226.00 to C$232.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Desjardins boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$262.00 to C$275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$265.50 to C$270.50 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$275.00 to C$280.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, TD raised their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$267.00 to C$272.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Royal Bank of Canada news, insider Neil Mclaughlin sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$287.72, for a total transaction of C$1,150,880.00. Also, Director David Ian Mckay sold 133,130 shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$287.21, for a total value of C$38,236,267.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 5,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$1,686,784.33. This represents a 95.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold a total of 324,535 shares of company stock worth $91,717,140 in the last 90 days.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of TSE RY opened at C$293.67 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of C$408.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.05. The stock's fifty day moving average price is C$281.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$249.98. Royal Bank of Canada has a one year low of C$175.50 and a one year high of C$306.38.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY - Get Free Report) NYSE: RY last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The financial services provider reported C$3.90 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$17.45 billion during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 15.95% and a net margin of 18.40%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 12.3454675 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 24th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th will be given a dividend of $1.76 per share. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.64. This represents a $7.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 27th. Royal Bank of Canada's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.35%.

Royal Bank of Canada Company Profile

Royal Bank of Canada is a global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from the 101,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank and one of the largest in the world, based on market capitalization, we have a diversified business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional experiences to our more than 19 million clients in Canada, the U.S.

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