Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $156.50.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, CIBC reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,425,519,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,382,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,027,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991,364 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1,600.9% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 1,427,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,174 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,183,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,136,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104,975 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,112,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,338,156,000 after purchasing an additional 921,276 shares during the period. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

RY opened at $114.73 on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada has a fifty-two week low of $95.84 and a fifty-two week high of $128.05. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $117.59 and a 200 day moving average of $121.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $161.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.88.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a $1.0251 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. 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.