Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Cibc World Mkts

Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. CIBC upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

RY opened at $111.13 on Thursday. 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 market capitalization of $156.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.71. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of $95.84 and a 1 year high of $128.05.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a $1.0251 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is 45.96%.

Institutional Trading of Royal Bank of Canada

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter worth about $2,425,519,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,382,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,027,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991,364 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. increased its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 1,600.9% during the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 1,427,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,084,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,174 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,183,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,136,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104,975 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,112,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,338,156,000 after buying an additional 921,276 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.