Brokerages Set Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) PT at $156.50

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $156.50.

RY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. CIBC raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of RY opened at $127.07 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $116.31 and a 200-day moving average of $119.37. The company has a market cap of $179.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.89. 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 has a 1 year low of $102.44 and a 1 year high of $128.05.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.0251 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is 46.18%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 2,272.7% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 261 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. 45.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.