Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada reached a new 52-week high of C$189.47, indicating strong performance, with analysts providing a consensus rating of "Buy" and a target price averaging C$189.62.
• The bank recently increased its quarterly dividend from $1.48 to $1.54 per share, reflecting a positive growth in returns for investors with an annualized yield of 3.3%.
• Insider selling occurred with several executives offloading shares, totaling over C$11 million in value within the last ninety days, which may warrant investor attention.

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY - Get Free Report) NYSE: RY hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after CIBC raised their price target on the stock from C$183.00 to C$195.00. CIBC currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada traded as high as C$189.47 and last traded at C$189.35, with a volume of 55291 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$189.03.

RY has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$198.00 to C$207.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Scotiabank raised Royal Bank of Canada to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$198.00 to C$196.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$182.00 to C$190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, National Bank Financial cut Royal Bank of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of C$190.54.

Insider Transactions at Royal Bank of Canada

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

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Down 0.9%

The stock has a market cap of C$267.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$180.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$171.80.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 24th. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Royal Bank of Canada's payout ratio is 49.49%.

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.