Bfsg LLC Decreases Stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Bfsg LLC lowered its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 615 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $3,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of RY. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 480,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,863,000 after buying an additional 15,041 shares during the period. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. boosted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 984,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,785,000 after purchasing an additional 50,995 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 163.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 160,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,271,000 after purchasing an additional 99,523 shares during the period. Addenda Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 836,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,547,000 after purchasing an additional 16,964 shares during the period. Finally, Galibier Capital Management Ltd. raised its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 8,119.3% in the 4th quarter. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. now owns 321,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,659,000 after purchasing an additional 317,466 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of RY stock traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $96.76. 165,699 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,232,313. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12-month low of $77.90 and a 12-month high of $103.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $99.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.86.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.05. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 14.74%. The company had revenue of $9.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.10 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $1.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of 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 research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.