Gold Investment Management Ltd. Buys 1,496 Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Gold Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,496 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada accounts for 2.1% of Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Gold Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $5,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 131.0% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter worth $61,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 192.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on RY shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.25.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:RY traded up $1.17 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,551,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,109,035. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $105.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.28. The company has a market capitalization of $156.73 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a fifty-two week low of $77.90 and a fifty-two week high of $110.81.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $10.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.95 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.12%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.03 per share. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is 50.62%.

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.