Brokerages Set Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Target Price at C$186.33

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from ten ratings firms, with an average 12-month target price of C$186.33.
• The bank recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.54, representing an annualized yield of 3.4% and a payout ratio of 49.49%.
• Insider selling activity includes a significant transaction where a director sold over 20,000 shares at an average price of C$182.30.

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY - Get Free Report) NYSE: RY have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the ten research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$186.33.

A number of research firms recently commented on RY. Scotiabank upgraded Royal Bank of Canada to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a C$194.00 target price on Royal Bank of Canada and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. 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. National Bankshares set a C$179.00 price objective on Royal Bank of Canada and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, National Bank Financial cut Royal Bank of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of RY traded up C$1.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting C$183.83. The stock had a trading volume of 502,280 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,491,974. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of C$148.44 and a 12 month high of C$184.07. The firm has a market capitalization of C$260.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of C$178.24 and a 200 day moving average price of C$170.85.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 22nd will be paid a dividend of $1.54 per share. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 24th. 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 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 Royal Bank of Canada stock in a transaction dated 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, Director David Ian Mckay sold 20,304 shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$182.30, for a total value of C$3,701,453.72. In the last quarter, insiders sold 63,039 shares of company stock worth $11,175,413.

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.