Advisory Services Network LLC Reduces Holdings in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Advisory Services Network LLC lowered its position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 22.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,567 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,183,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,136,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104,975 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter worth about $2,425,519,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,112,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,338,156,000 after purchasing an additional 921,276 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,382,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,027,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,796,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $698,579,000 after purchasing an additional 51,277 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on RY. StockNews.com upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE RY opened at $115.24 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $162.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.00. Royal Bank of Canada has a one year low of $95.84 and a one year high of $128.05.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0251 per share. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.18%.

About Royal Bank of Canada

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.