Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. trimmed its stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 24.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,918 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $5,714,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 110.3% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter worth $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the second quarter worth $27,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter valued at $59,000. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RY opened at $123.54 on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of $79.03 and a 12 month high of $126.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

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

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be given a dividend of $1.028 per share. This represents a $4.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is currently 50.67%.

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.