Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Hits New 12-Month High at $124.56

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $124.56 and last traded at $124.38, with a volume of 46398 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $123.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 20th. Argus lifted their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to 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

The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $10.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.40 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 15.17% and a net margin of 12.28%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.028 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $4.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter worth approximately $365,246,000. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,901,033 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,730,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,534,910,000 after acquiring an additional 1,603,427 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 40.5% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,039,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $508,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,452,127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,490,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,368,641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076,974 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is currently 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.