Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $136.33.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Scotiabank raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock opened at $112.95 on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada has a twelve month low of $77.90 and a twelve month high of $113.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $159.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average is $108.71 and its 200 day moving average is $103.53.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $10.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.95 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.12%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is 51.49%.

Institutional Trading of Royal Bank of Canada

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RY. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,257,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 146.3% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 24,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,464,000 after purchasing an additional 14,476 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 5,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter worth approximately $260,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 480,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,863,000 after buying an additional 15,041 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

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.