Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Shares Bought by First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,059 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $1,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 16.7% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 20,232,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,141,681,000 after buying an additional 2,901,033 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,320,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $637,460,000 after acquiring an additional 2,708,534 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 40.5% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,039,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $508,739,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452,127 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,695,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,618,566,000 after purchasing an additional 964,898 shares during the period. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the second quarter worth approximately $29,254,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on RY shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Down 0.3 %

RY stock opened at $126.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $178.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of $77.90 and a 12 month high of $126.96. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $120.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $10.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.40 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 15.17% and a net margin of 12.28%. Sell-side analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.028 per share. This represents a $4.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.99%.

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.