Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Buys 1,200 Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 100,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $12,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,548,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $427,589,000 after purchasing an additional 64,450 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 84,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,483,000 after purchasing an additional 4,980 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,034,000. Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,243,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $706,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on RY shares. CIBC reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Bank of Canada currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE RY opened at $112.45 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.43. The stock has a market cap of $158.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.88. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12-month low of $95.84 and a 12-month high of $128.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be issued a $1.0251 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.96%.

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.