Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$168.12 and traded as high as C$169.77. Royal Bank of Canada shares last traded at C$169.34, with a volume of 3,706,118 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RY has been the topic of several research reports. National Bankshares increased their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$181.00 to C$188.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$167.00 to C$176.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$167.00 to C$197.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. TD Securities lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from C$178.00 to C$180.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$176.58.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of C$239.62 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is C$174.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$168.12.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David Ian Mckay sold 20,304 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$175.12, for a total value of C$3,555,721.76. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 1,538 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$177.09, for a total value of C$272,363.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 25 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$4,427.24. The trade was a 98.40 % decrease in their position. In the last quarter, insiders sold 22,150 shares of company stock worth $3,882,024.

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.