Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Upgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

RY has been the subject of several other reports. TD Securities downgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays raised Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.8 %

Royal Bank of Canada stock opened at $120.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $170.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $124.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a fifty-two week low of $93.97 and a fifty-two week high of $128.05.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th will be given a $1.0522 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. This represents a $4.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.91%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RY. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 6.3% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 84,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,483,000 after purchasing an additional 4,980 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,504,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,118,150,000 after buying an additional 190,341 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 6.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 211,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,369,000 after acquiring an additional 12,693 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,622,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,706,833,000 after acquiring an additional 124,348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the third quarter worth $706,000. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

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.