MQS Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Free Report) TSE: RY in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 6,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $844,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 16.7% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 20,232,204 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,141,681,000 after purchasing an additional 2,901,033 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,320,246 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $637,460,000 after purchasing an additional 2,708,534 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 40.5% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,039,171 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $508,739,000 after buying an additional 1,452,127 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the 3rd quarter worth $153,217,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,695,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,618,566,000 after buying an additional 964,898 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

RY traded down $0.74 on Wednesday, reaching $123.15. The company had a trading volume of 389,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,077,559. Royal Bank of Canada has a one year low of $85.02 and a one year high of $126.96. The company has a fifty day moving average of $123.32 and a 200-day moving average of $113.43. The company has a market capitalization of $174.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $10.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.40 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.028 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $4.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Royal Bank of Canada's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on RY. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Company 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.