Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Stock Price Passes Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) shares crossed above the important 200-day moving average during trading, reaching a high of C$200.30.
• Several analysts have upgraded their target prices for the bank, with Bank of America raising it from C$214.00 to C$227.00, indicating growing confidence in the stock's potential.
• The bank recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.54 per share, showing a commitment to returning value to shareholders with a 3.1% dividend yield.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY - Get Free Report) NYSE: RY's stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$175.07 and traded as high as C$200.30. Royal Bank of Canada shares last traded at C$200.25, with a volume of 1,905,255 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. CIBC cut Royal Bank of Canada from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a C$208.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, September 5th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$186.00 to C$210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$190.00 to C$203.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$191.00 to C$208.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of C$206.00.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of C$189.56 and a 200 day moving average of C$175.93. The stock has a market capitalization of C$286.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.17.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were given a $1.54 dividend. This represents a $6.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank of Canada's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.78%.

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 that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$182.30, for a total transaction of C$3,701,453.72. Also, Senior Officer Jennifer Kristine Publicover sold 401 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 152 shares in the company, valued at C$27,709.86. This represents a 72.51% decrease in their position. Insiders sold a total of 21,013 shares of company stock valued at $3,830,706 over 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.