Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Invests $328,000 in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,244 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter worth $26,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter worth $34,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock opened at $97.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.22. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52 week low of $77.90 and a 52 week high of $103.88. The company has a market capitalization of $138.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.05. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.43%. The business had revenue of $9.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.10 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a $1.0207 dividend. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is presently 37.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.67.

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.