Brokerages Set Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Price Target at $137.67

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $137.67.

RY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of RY. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 480,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,863,000 after buying an additional 15,041 shares during the period. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. grew its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 984,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $99,785,000 after purchasing an additional 50,995 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 163.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 160,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,271,000 after purchasing an additional 99,523 shares during the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 836,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,547,000 after purchasing an additional 16,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Galibier Capital Management Ltd. lifted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 8,119.3% during the fourth quarter. Galibier Capital Management Ltd. now owns 321,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,659,000 after purchasing an additional 317,466 shares during the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.2 %

RY stock opened at $96.93 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $137.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.86. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $98.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.13. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1-year low of $77.90 and a 1-year high of $103.88.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $9.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.10 billion. Analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a dividend of $1.0207 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 payout ratio is presently 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.