Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 33,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,028 shares during the quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $3,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of RY. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the first quarter worth $49,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 131.0% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 192.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE RY traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $109.87. The company had a trading volume of 130,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,101,702. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a twelve month low of $77.90 and a twelve month high of $112.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $108.05 and its 200-day moving average is $102.99.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $10.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.95 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.12%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, July 25th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is 51.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on RY shares. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Scotiabank raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.25.

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.