Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Sets New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) reached a new **52-week high** of C$184.03, closing at C$183.91 with a trading volume of **369,721 shares**.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook; Jefferies lowered its target price to **C$180.00** while Scotiabank upgraded the stock to a "**strong-buy**" rating, with an overall average target price of **C$186.33**.
• Royal Bank of Canada announced a quarterly dividend increase to **$1.54** per share, representing a yield of **3.4%**, with a payout ratio of **49.49%**.

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY - Get Free Report) NYSE: RY hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as C$184.03 and last traded at C$183.91, with a volume of 369721 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$182.37.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$195.00 to C$180.00 in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$198.00 to C$196.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Scotiabank raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. National Bank Financial cut Royal Bank of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$180.00 to C$182.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of C$186.33.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.7%

The stock's 50-day moving average price is C$178.24 and its 200 day moving average price is C$170.85. The company has a market cap of C$259.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84.

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 given a $1.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $6.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. Royal Bank of Canada's payout ratio is presently 49.49%.

Insider Activity at Royal Bank of Canada

In related news, Director David Ian Mckay sold 20,304 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$3,701,453.72. Also, Senior Officer Graeme Ashley Hepworth sold 308 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$182.30, for a total transaction of C$56,148.92. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 63,039 shares of company stock valued at $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.

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