Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $97.13 Million Stock Position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 955,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,447 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Royal Bank of Canada worth $97,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RY. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 131.0% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on RY shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Royal Bank of Canada currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.67.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of RY stock traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $98.16. 502,507 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,261,320. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $94.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52-week low of $77.90 and a 52-week high of $103.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.05. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The company had revenue of $9.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.10 billion. Research analysts predict that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a $1.0207 dividend. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

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.