Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Shares Sold by Schechter Investment Advisors LLC

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 321 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 6.3% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 84,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,483,000 after acquiring an additional 4,980 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,622,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,706,833,000 after acquiring an additional 124,348 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the third quarter worth about $706,000. Bridgewater Associates LP raised its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 150.7% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 74,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,249,000 after acquiring an additional 44,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 9.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,390,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $805,616,000 after acquiring an additional 541,760 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on RY. TD Securities cut shares of 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 shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE RY opened at $112.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $159.45 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.87. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of $95.84 and a 12 month high of $128.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.66.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0251 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.73%.

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.