Analysts Set Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) PT at $156.50

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $156.50.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on RY shares. StockNews.com raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. TD Securities cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 lowered their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RY. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,183,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,136,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104,975 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,425,519,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 75.8% in the third 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 in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 124,348 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,112,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,338,156,000 after purchasing an additional 921,276 shares during the period. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Up 0.7 %

Royal Bank of Canada stock opened at $115.07 on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of $95.84 and a 12 month high of $128.05. The company has a market capitalization of $162.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.0251 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.96%.

Royal Bank of Canada Company 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.