Short Interest in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Declines By 19.7%

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY - Get Free Report) TSE: RY was the target of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,350,000 shares, a decline of 19.7% from the November 30th total of 7,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.8 days. Approximately 0.5% of the company's shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Royal Bank of Canada

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. 1ST Source Bank purchased a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter valued at about $214,000. Logan Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 33,003 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293 shares in the last quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $748,000. Old North State Trust LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 5.7% during the third quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 8,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,006,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter worth $254,000. 45.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of RY stock traded down $0.20 on Friday, hitting $120.88. The stock had a trading volume of 355,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,069,874. The stock's 50 day moving average is $123.55 and its 200-day moving average is $117.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52-week low of $93.97 and a 52-week high of $128.05. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be given a $1.0522 dividend. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada's previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. 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, Barclays raised Royal Bank of Canada from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.50.

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.