Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Has $120,000 Stock Position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 57.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,582 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 984,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,785,000 after acquiring an additional 50,995 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 163.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 160,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,271,000 after acquiring an additional 99,523 shares during the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 836,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,547,000 after purchasing an additional 16,964 shares during the period. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 8,119.3% during the fourth quarter. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. now owns 321,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,659,000 after purchasing an additional 317,466 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 66.6% during the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 60,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,133,000 after purchasing an additional 24,252 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on RY shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. StockNews.com cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays started coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.67.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:RY opened at $97.86 on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12-month low of $77.90 and a 12-month high of $103.88. The stock has a market cap of $138.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50 day moving average of $98.97 and a 200-day moving average of $94.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $9.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.10 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.43%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $1.0207 per share. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is currently 37.66%.

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.