Royal Bank of Canada Declares Quarterly Dividend of $1.03 (NYSE:RY)

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 28th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of 1.0251 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th.

Royal Bank of Canada has raised its dividend by an average of 8.7% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 14 years. Royal Bank of Canada has a payout ratio of 41.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Royal Bank of Canada to earn $10.10 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.09 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 40.5%.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

RY stock traded up $2.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $118.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,123,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,275,538. The company has a market capitalization of $167.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.87. The company’s fifty day moving average is $120.14 and its 200-day moving average is $121.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of $95.84 and a 1 year high of $128.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on RY shares. StockNews.com upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, TD Securities downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.50.

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.