Apollon Wealth Management LLC Sells 170 Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 4.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 170 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 47.4% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,664,000 after acquiring an additional 5,302 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 91.3% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 19,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 9,500 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,504,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,118,150,000 after purchasing an additional 190,341 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 6.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 211,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,369,000 after buying an additional 12,693 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the second quarter worth about $3,787,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on RY. TD Securities downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of RY opened at $121.47 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $123.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. Royal Bank of Canada has a twelve month low of $85.02 and a twelve month high of $126.96. The firm has a market cap of $171.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.40 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.79%.

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.