Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by TD Securities

TD Securities cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have C$180.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of C$178.00.

RY has been the subject of several other research reports. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$157.00 to C$154.00 in a research note on Monday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$151.00 to C$165.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Desjardins lifted their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$156.00 to C$163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. CIBC boosted their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$166.00 to C$167.00 in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Cormark raised their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$166.00 to C$171.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$165.85.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

RY opened at C$171.60 on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of C$115.57 and a 1 year high of C$175.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of C$169.41 and a 200 day moving average price of C$155.69. The company has a market cap of C$241.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported C$3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$2.95 by C$0.31. The firm had revenue of C$14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$14.27 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 28.67% and a return on equity of 13.68%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Royal Bank of Canada will post 12.3454675 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.31%.

Insider Transactions at Royal Bank of Canada

In related news, Director David Ian Mckay sold 74,852 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$164.59, for a total transaction of C$12,320,115.24. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$166.96, for a total value of C$1,252,207.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25 shares in the company, valued at C$4,174.03. This represents a 99.67 % decrease in their position. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 144,770 shares of company stock valued at $23,959,265.

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.