Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 14,476 Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 146.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,476 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $2,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Carr Financial Group Corp bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter valued at about $204,000. Optas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter valued at about $208,000. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 478,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,380,000 after buying an additional 10,109 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,257,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 5,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 571 shares during the period. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RY has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays began coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.67.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE RY opened at $96.93 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $137.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $98.96 and a 200-day moving average of $94.13.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $9.98 billion during 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%. Sell-side 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a $1.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.21%. 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 is currently 37.66%.

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.