Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Share Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$162.69 and traded as high as C$174.31. Royal Bank of Canada shares last traded at C$172.27, with a volume of 4,303,683 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on RY shares. National Bankshares increased their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$181.00 to C$188.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Securities lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the stock from C$178.00 to C$180.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. CIBC lifted their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$167.00 to C$176.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$167.00 to C$197.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of C$176.58.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is C$173.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$162.69. The company has a market cap of C$242.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th will be given a dividend of $1.48 per share. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is 50.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 1,538 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$177.09, for a total transaction of C$272,363.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$4,427.24. This represents a 98.40 % decrease in their position.

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.