Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 3,330,852 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 213% from the previous session’s volume of 1,063,929 shares.The stock last traded at $124.39 and had previously closed at $124.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.1 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $176.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 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 the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $10.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.40 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.28% and a return on equity of 15.17%. Equities analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th will be given a $1.028 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $4.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RY. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,695,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,618,566,000 after purchasing an additional 964,898 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 16.7% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 2,901,033 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,127,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,289,274,000 after acquiring an additional 256,023 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,504,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,118,150,000 after purchasing an additional 190,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,320,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $637,460,000 after purchasing an additional 2,708,534 shares during the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.