Wambolt & Associates LLC Has $2.64 Million Position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Wambolt & Associates LLC trimmed its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 21,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,336 shares during the quarter. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $2,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,104,975 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 75.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,866,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,229,834,000 after purchasing an additional 7,702,585 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 9.0% in 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 9.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,390,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $805,616,000 after purchasing an additional 541,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC increased its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,796,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $698,579,000 after buying an additional 51,277 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, CIBC reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

NYSE RY opened at $115.91 on Tuesday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $117.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.24. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52-week low of $95.84 and a 52-week high of $128.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.88.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be issued a $1.0251 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.96%.

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.