Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 17.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,542 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $714,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RY. Norges Bank bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter worth $1,583,609,000. Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 13.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 26,666,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,330,506,000 after acquiring an additional 3,062,038 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter worth about $1,220,441,000. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. bought a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $117,087,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Treasury Department purchased a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,954,000. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.67.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of RY stock opened at $97.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $138.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of $77.90 and a 1 year high of $103.88. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.02. 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 (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $9.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.10 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.43%. Research analysts predict that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.66%.

Royal Bank of Canada 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.