AQR Capital Management LLC Invests $453,000 in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 4,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $453,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 1st quarter valued at about $49,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 293.8% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the first quarter worth approximately $86,000. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Up 0.8 %

RY opened at $124.44 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $119.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $109.97. Royal Bank of Canada has a one year low of $77.90 and a one year high of $125.28. The stock has a market cap of $176.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.23. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 15.17% and a net margin of 12.28%. The company had revenue of $10.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.40 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.91 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.028 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $4.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is 51.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on RY. UBS Group assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.50.

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.