Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 13,351 Shares of Royal Bank Of Canada $RY

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,351 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank Of Canada were worth $7,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in the second quarter valued at about $2,599,262,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Royal Bank Of Canada by 1,218.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,723,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $752,937,000 after purchasing an additional 5,289,330 shares in the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $329,983,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 3.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 65,008,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,567,752,000 after acquiring an additional 2,437,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada by 20.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,374,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,517,123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,492 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on RY. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. National Bank Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Royal Bank Of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a report on Monday, November 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.00.

Royal Bank Of Canada Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Royal Bank Of Canada stock opened at $169.43 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $169.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.65. The company has a market cap of $236.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.89, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.79. Royal Bank Of Canada has a 12-month low of $106.10 and a 12-month high of $176.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.25. Royal Bank Of Canada had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 16.83%. The firm had revenue of $12.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.07 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Royal Bank Of Canada will post 9.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank Of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 26th will be issued a $1.64 dividend. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 26th. This is an increase from Royal Bank Of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.54. Royal Bank Of Canada’s payout ratio is 47.66%.

Royal Bank Of Canada Profile

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY) is a diversified financial services company and one of Canada’s largest banks. Founded in 1864 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the firm is now headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutional clients through a network of branches, digital platforms and international offices.

RBC operates across several principal business segments including personal and commercial banking, wealth management, insurance, investor and treasury services, capital markets, and global asset management.