Palisade Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Palisade Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 0.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 170 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $9,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 26,666,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,330,506,000 after buying an additional 3,062,038 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 26,869,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,718,631,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369,723 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter valued at $1,220,441,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,127,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,645,444,000 after purchasing an additional 717,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,335,000. 45.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Up 0.8 %

Royal Bank of Canada stock traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $101.85. The stock had a trading volume of 419,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,219,463. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.65. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52 week low of $77.90 and a 52 week high of $103.88. The stock has a market cap of $144.09 billion, a PE ratio of 12.81, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $9.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.10 billion. Analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.0207 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is presently 25.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Bank of Canada has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.67.

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.