Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 1,000 Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 1.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $5,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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. purchased a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the first quarter worth $49,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 293.8% in the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 131.0% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. 45.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RY. Jefferies Financial Group raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Argus increased 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 report on Thursday, June 6th. Scotiabank raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $136.33.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:RY opened at $113.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $108.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.60. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1-year low of $77.90 and a 1-year high of $113.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.12. The company 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 research analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 25th will be issued a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.63%. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is presently 51.49%.

Royal Bank of Canada Company 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.