Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Receives Consensus Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

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.

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

A number of research firms recently commented on RY. National Bankshares set a C$179.00 target price on Royal Bank of Canada and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$182.00 to C$183.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$195.00 to C$180.00 in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$180.00 to C$182.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, National Bank Financial lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

TSE RY opened at C$182.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of C$257.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84. The firm's 50 day moving average price is C$178.07 and its 200-day moving average price is C$170.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52-week low of C$148.10 and a 52-week high of C$183.11.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd will be issued a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Senior Officer Jennifer Kristine Publicover sold 401 shares of the business'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$73,102.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 152 shares of the company's stock, valued at C$27,709.86. The trade was a 72.51% decrease in their position. Also, Director David Ian Mckay sold 20,304 shares of the 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. Insiders have sold a total of 63,039 shares of company stock worth $11,175,413 in the last ninety days.

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.

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