Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Shares Sold by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lowered its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 8.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 29,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,758 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $3,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RY. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 8.7% in the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 39,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,962,000 after acquiring an additional 3,145 shares during the period. Affinity Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $647,000. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY lifted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 512,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,669,000 after purchasing an additional 33,792 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 0.5% during the first quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 41,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,076,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Executive Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 201.8% during the first quarter. Executive Wealth Group LLC now owns 30,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,975,000 after buying an additional 20,186 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

NYSE RY opened at $109.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.89. The company has a market cap of $154.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1-year low of $77.90 and a 1-year high of $109.60.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.12. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.12%. The firm had revenue of $10.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.95 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 25th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RY. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Scotiabank upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Barclays began coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.25.

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.