Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $156.50.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RY. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. CIBC reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:RY traded up $0.52 on Friday, reaching $112.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 840,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,062,181. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1-year low of $95.84 and a 1-year high of $128.05. The business's 50-day moving average price is $117.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.95. The firm has a market cap of $159.04 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be issued a $1.0251 dividend. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada's payout ratio is 45.96%.

Institutional Trading of Royal Bank of Canada

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RY. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,183,549 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,136,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104,975 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,425,519,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,112,451 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,338,156,000 after acquiring an additional 921,276 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 8,891,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,071,536,000 after purchasing an additional 169,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,382,278 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,027,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991,364 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company's stock.

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.