Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Trims Stock Position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,711,602 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 68,292 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.19% of Royal Bank of Canada worth $338,218,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 20,232,204 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,141,681,000 after purchasing an additional 2,901,033 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,622,472 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,706,833,000 after purchasing an additional 124,348 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,127,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,289,274,000 after buying an additional 256,023 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,504,593 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,118,150,000 after buying an additional 190,341 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp boosted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 4,759,385 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $594,791,000 after buying an additional 171,125 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RY has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Securities cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Bank of Canada currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, hitting $125.02. 682,076 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,096,496. The stock has a market cap of $176.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.86. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $123.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.56. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12-month low of $85.02 and a 12-month high of $126.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.23. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.28% and a return on equity of 15.17%. The business had revenue of $10.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.40 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th will be given a $1.028 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $4.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. Royal Bank of Canada's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.79%.

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.