Sapient Capital LLC Takes Position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 2,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 146.3% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 24,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,464,000 after purchasing an additional 14,476 shares during the period. Carr Financial Group Corp acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter valued at $204,000. Optas LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 478,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,380,000 after purchasing an additional 10,109 shares during the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on RY. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.67.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Down 0.6 %

RY opened at $97.92 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of $77.90 and a 12 month high of $103.88.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $9.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.10 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $1.0207 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.66%.

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.