Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Receives $156.50 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $156.50.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on RY. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 1st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on 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. 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.

Institutional Trading of Royal Bank of Canada

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,866,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,229,834,000 after purchasing an additional 7,702,585 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 165.1% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,896,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804,022 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter valued at approximately $153,217,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 9.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,390,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $805,616,000 after buying an additional 541,760 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 18.2% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,336,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,925,000 after buying an additional 359,719 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE RY opened at $119.97 on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of $93.97 and a 12 month high of $128.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $122.75 and a 200-day moving average of $119.21. The company has a market cap of $169.60 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.87.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.0522 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 27th. This represents a $4.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.85%.

Royal Bank of Canada Company 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.