First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Boosts Stock Position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 626 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $1,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RY. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 110.3% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 293.8% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com downgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Bank of Canada has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:RY opened at $123.63 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.73. The stock has a market cap of $174.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of $79.12 and a 1 year high of $126.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $10.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.40 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 15.17% and a net margin of 12.28%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be given a dividend of $1.028 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $4.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.67%.

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.