Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Hits New 52-Week High at $109.60

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $109.60 and last traded at $109.31, with a volume of 223832 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $107.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays initiated coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Argus raised their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.25.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $104.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.00. The company has a market capitalization of $154.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $10.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.95 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Royal Bank of Canada

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Canoe Financial LP increased its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 11,061.2% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 151,142,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,285,031,000 after purchasing an additional 149,788,224 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter worth $1,898,970,000. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 21.7% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 32,571,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,310,010,000 after acquiring an additional 5,810,077 shares during the period. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter valued at $365,246,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter valued at $181,141,000. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.