Brokerages Set Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Target Price at C$145.71

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is C$145.71.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Desjardins raised their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$142.00 to C$156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$159.00 to C$168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$148.00 to C$153.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. CIBC raised their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$135.00 to C$150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, UBS Group set a C$165.00 price objective on Royal Bank of Canada and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.6 %

TSE RY opened at C$149.10 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of C$210.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average price of C$143.80 and a 200-day moving average price of C$137.30. Royal Bank of Canada has a twelve month low of C$107.92 and a twelve month high of C$150.16.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The financial services provider reported C$2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$2.77 by C$0.15. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 13.66% and a net margin of 28.61%. The company had revenue of C$14.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$13.58 billion. Research analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 11.1525292 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 25th will be issued a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.54%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 54,354 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$145.15, for a total value of C$7,889,646.16. Following the sale, the insider now owns 25 shares in the company, valued at C$3,628.83. In other news, Senior Officer Bruce Washington Ross sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$140.99, for a total value of C$2,819,840.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 235 shares in the company, valued at C$33,133.12. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 54,354 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$145.15, for a total value of C$7,889,646.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 25 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$3,628.83. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 101,302 shares of company stock valued at $14,592,565.

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.