D.A. Davidson & CO. Decreases Position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lessened its position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 17.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 646 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,866,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,229,834,000 after acquiring an additional 7,702,585 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 165.1% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,896,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804,022 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 9.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,390,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $805,616,000 after buying an additional 541,760 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,336,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,925,000 after buying an additional 359,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,072,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of RY stock opened at $119.52 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.43. The stock has a market cap of $169.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.87. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th were given a dividend of $1.0522 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 27th. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is 49.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RY. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. 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. TD Securities lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.50.

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.