Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 62,447 Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 955,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 62,447 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $97,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cigna Investments Inc. New lifted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 26,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,661,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 4.4% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,315,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 7,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 4.1% in the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 4,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on RY. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.67.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Royal Bank of Canada stock traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $98.16. 502,507 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,261,320. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $99.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.80. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of $77.90 and a 12 month high of $103.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.05. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The business had revenue of $9.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.10 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.0207 per share. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

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.