Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Shares Bought by Legacy Capital Group California Inc.

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 66.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,819 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 110.3% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 293.8% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares during the period. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on RY. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Down 0.9 %

RY stock opened at $122.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $173.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.19, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. Royal Bank of Canada has a one year low of $77.90 and a one year high of $126.96. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $121.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $111.04.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $10.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.40 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.28% and a return on equity of 15.17%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.91 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be paid a $1.028 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $4.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is currently 51.99%.

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.