Park Avenue Securities LLC Boosts Stock Position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 10.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in RY. LPL Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 30.8% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 108,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,487,000 after purchasing an additional 25,540 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 3.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,896,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the third quarter worth approximately $1,167,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 16.8% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 4,298 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 4.9% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,811,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $685,772,000 after purchasing an additional 366,087 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock opened at $105.98 on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52 week low of $77.90 and a 52 week high of $109.51. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $103.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.76. The firm has a market cap of $149.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.12. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.12%. The business had revenue of $10.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.95 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Barclays initiated coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Argus boosted their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Bank of Canada presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.25.

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.