Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. Buys New Position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. purchased a new position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 31,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,844,000. Royal Bank of Canada makes up approximately 1.5% of Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RY. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,183,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,136,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104,975 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter valued at $2,425,519,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,112,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,338,156,000 after purchasing an additional 921,276 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 8,891,023 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,071,536,000 after purchasing an additional 169,437 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,382,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,027,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991,364 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

RY opened at $119.76 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $169.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $114.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $119.43. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52-week low of $101.96 and a 52-week 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. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is currently 46.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on RY shares. StockNews.com upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research 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 issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.50.

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.