Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Shares Sold by First Personal Financial Services

First Personal Financial Services trimmed its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. First Personal Financial Services’ holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of RY. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter worth about $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Barclays started coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.67.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE:RY opened at $98.54 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $98.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52 week low of $77.90 and a 52 week high of $103.88. The company has a market capitalization of $139.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.05. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.43%. The firm had revenue of $9.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.10 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $1.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.66%.

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.