Sapient Capital LLC Makes New $251,000 Investment in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,127,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,645,444,000 after acquiring an additional 717,971 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 26,869,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,718,631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369,723 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 13.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 26,666,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,330,506,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,038 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 12,413,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,088,176,000 after buying an additional 106,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,590,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $929,810,000 after buying an additional 166,968 shares during the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of RY opened at $101.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $142.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a twelve month low of $77.90 and a twelve month high of $103.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $99.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.65.

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

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $1.0207 per share. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. StockNews.com downgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.67.

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.