Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 198 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $1,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RY. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 173.9% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 15,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,908,000 after buying an additional 10,053 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter worth approximately $183,000. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 589,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,027,000 after purchasing an additional 4,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 28,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cibc World Mkts raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. CIBC raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Up 1.1 %

RY opened at $119.90 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $169.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $114.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.63. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of $96.52 and a 12 month high of $128.05.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0251 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is 46.18%.

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.