Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Senior Officer Sells C$272,363.80 in Stock

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 1,538 shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$177.09, for a total transaction of C$272,363.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$4,427.24. The trade was a 98.40 % decrease in their position.

Douglas Antony Guzman also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, October 2nd, Douglas Antony Guzman sold 7,500 shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock. The shares were sold at an average price of C$166.96, for a total transaction of C$1,252,207.50.
• On Thursday, September 26th, Douglas Antony Guzman sold 17,000 shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock. The stock was sold at an average price of C$167.95, for a total transaction of C$2,855,150.00.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of TSE RY opened at C$173.40 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of C$244.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of C$173.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$161.28. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1-year low of C$127.60 and a 1-year high of C$180.45.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th will be issued a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Cormark upped their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$166.00 to C$171.00 in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$167.00 to C$197.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$195.00 to C$193.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, TD Securities lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from C$178.00 to C$180.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$176.58.

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.