Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Shares Sold by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments lessened its stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 27.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,189 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,127,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,645,444,000 after purchasing an additional 717,971 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 26,869,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,718,631,000 after buying an additional 1,369,723 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 13.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 26,666,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,330,506,000 after acquiring an additional 3,062,038 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 12,413,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,088,176,000 after acquiring an additional 106,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,590,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $929,810,000 after acquiring an additional 166,968 shares during the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.67.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of RY opened at $101.17 on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52-week low of $77.90 and a 52-week high of $103.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.37. The company has a market capitalization of $143.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $9.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.10 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 14.74%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a $1.0207 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.31%.

Royal Bank of Canada Company Profile

Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, including auto financing, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses.