Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $60.03 Million in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 498,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $60,034,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of RY. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 75.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,866,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,229,834,000 after purchasing an additional 7,702,585 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 165.1% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,896,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,532,000 after buying an additional 1,804,022 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,390,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $805,616,000 after buying an additional 541,760 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,336,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,925,000 after buying an additional 359,719 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter worth $42,072,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on RY shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. TD Securities downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. CIBC reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock opened at $113.05 on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada has a fifty-two week low of $95.84 and a fifty-two week high of $128.05. The company has a market cap of $159.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.88. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $119.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.71.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is 45.96%.

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.