Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $60.03 Million Position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 498,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $60,034,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,548,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $427,589,000 after purchasing an additional 64,450 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 84,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,483,000 after purchasing an additional 4,980 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,622,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,706,833,000 after purchasing an additional 124,348 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter worth about $706,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 150.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 74,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,249,000 after purchasing an additional 44,494 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Securities cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. CIBC restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Bank of Canada presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE RY opened at $113.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.88. 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 has a 1 year low of $95.84 and a 1 year high of $128.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $119.40 and its 200-day moving average is $121.71.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a $1.0251 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.96%.

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.