Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Receives $156.50 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $156.50.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. TD Securities cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday.

Institutional Trading of Royal Bank of Canada

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RY. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,901,033 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,866,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,229,834,000 after buying an additional 7,702,585 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,622,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,706,833,000 after buying an additional 124,348 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,127,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,274,000 after acquiring an additional 256,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,504,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,118,150,000 after acquiring an additional 190,341 shares during the period. 45.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE RY opened at $120.72 on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52 week low of $93.97 and a 52 week high of $128.05. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $124.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.66 billion, a PE ratio of 14.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be issued a $1.0522 dividend. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is presently 52.91%.

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.