Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY - Get Free Report) NYSE: RY's stock price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as C$183.11 and last traded at C$182.06, with a volume of 2083841 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$182.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$198.00 to C$196.00 in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$195.00 to C$180.00 in a research note on Monday, April 21st. National Bankshares set a C$179.00 target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a C$194.00 target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of C$184.54.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.4%

The company's 50 day moving average is C$176.51 and its 200 day moving average is C$170.15. The firm has a market capitalization of C$258.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. Royal Bank of Canada's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Royal Bank of Canada

In other Royal Bank of Canada news, Senior Officer Graeme Ashley Hepworth sold 308 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$175.47, for a total transaction of C$54,044.58. Also, Senior Officer Jennifer Kristine Publicover sold 401 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$160.27, for a total transaction of C$64,266.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 152 shares in the company, valued at C$24,360.45. This represents a 72.51% decrease in their position. Insiders sold 62,731 shares of company stock worth $10,663,017 in the last quarter.

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.