Legacy Capital Group California Inc. Increases Stock Position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 66.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,819 shares during the quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 83,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,410,000 after buying an additional 3,407 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter valued at $217,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter valued at $153,217,000. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $768,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter valued at $217,000. 45.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on RY. StockNews.com lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of RY stock opened at $122.47 on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of $77.90 and a 12 month high of $126.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $173.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $121.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.04.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.23. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.28% and a return on equity of 15.17%. The firm had revenue of $10.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.40 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be issued a $1.028 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $4.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.99%.

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.