Natixis Advisors L.P. Grows Position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 35.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,300 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $10,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 6.7% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 24,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,548 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 18,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,597,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 4,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association bought a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,092,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 12.1% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,227,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $282,809,000 after acquiring an additional 347,456 shares during the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

RY stock opened at $101.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $99.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12-month low of $77.90 and a 12-month high of $103.88.

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

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.0207 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

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.