Barclays PLC Grows Stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $1,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 57.1% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of RY stock opened at $118.72 on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada has a fifty-two week low of $93.97 and a fifty-two week high of $128.05. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.12. The stock has a market cap of $167.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.87.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be issued a $1.0522 dividend. This represents a $4.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is 49.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on RY shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 1st. Barclays raised Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, TD Securities lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Profile

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.