Palisade Asset Management LLC Sells 4,645 Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Palisade Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 5.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 87,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,645 shares during the quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $10,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 20,232,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,141,681,000 after buying an additional 2,901,033 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the third quarter valued at $153,217,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the second quarter worth about $29,254,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 2.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,127,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,289,274,000 after purchasing an additional 256,023 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,504,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,118,150,000 after purchasing an additional 190,341 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Securities downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RY opened at $125.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $176.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1-year low of $85.02 and a 1-year high of $126.96. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $123.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.23. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.28% and a return on equity of 15.17%. The company had revenue of $10.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.40 billion. Research analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were paid a $1.028 dividend. This represents a $4.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.79%.

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.