Citigroup Inc. Grows Stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 14.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 311,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,178 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $38,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RY. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 110.3% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RY opened at $125.08 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $176.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $123.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.74. Royal Bank of Canada has a fifty-two week low of $85.02 and a fifty-two week high of $126.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.23. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.28% and a return on equity of 15.17%. The business had revenue of $10.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.40 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were paid a $1.028 dividend. This represents a $4.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is 50.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on RY. Barclays raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. TD Securities cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.50.

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.