Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Acquires 6,000 Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $10,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 32,571,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,310,010,000 after acquiring an additional 5,810,077 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter valued at $365,246,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 16.7% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 20,232,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,141,681,000 after purchasing an additional 2,901,033 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,730,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,534,910,000 after acquiring an additional 1,603,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 40.5% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,039,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $508,739,000 after buying an additional 1,452,127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on RY shares. Argus increased their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. StockNews.com lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock opened at $123.68 on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada has a one year low of $77.90 and a one year high of $124.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $115.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.53. The stock has a market cap of $175.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.23. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 15.17% and a net margin of 12.28%. The firm had revenue of $10.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.40 billion. Equities analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.97 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.028 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $4.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.11%.

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.