Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Shares Sold by Western Wealth Management LLC

Western Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 2.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 373 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $1,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $4,645,444,000 after buying an additional 717,971 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 26,869,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,718,631,000 after buying an additional 1,369,723 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 26,666,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,330,506,000 after buying an additional 3,062,038 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,583,609,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 12,413,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,088,176,000 after purchasing an additional 106,757 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of RY opened at $97.86 on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada has a one year low of $77.90 and a one year high of $103.88. The company has a 50-day moving average of $98.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $94.22. The stock has a market cap of $138.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 1.67 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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.05. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The company had revenue of $9.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.10 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $1.0207 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RY has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. 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. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.67.

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.