584,867 Shares in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Bought by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 584,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $70,429,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in RY. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $313,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 122,223 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,245,000 after purchasing an additional 4,615 shares during the period. Prudent Man Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 3rd quarter valued at about $220,000. Finally, Drive Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Drive Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

NYSE:RY opened at $112.66 on Tuesday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.49. The company has a market cap of $159.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.88. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52-week low of $95.84 and a 52-week high of $128.05.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0251 per share. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is currently 45.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RY has been the topic of several recent research reports. CIBC reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays raised Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Bank of Canada has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.