2,486 Shares in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Bought by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in RY. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter worth about $1,583,609,000. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 26,666,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,330,506,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062,038 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,220,441,000. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter worth $117,087,000. Finally, State of Tennessee Treasury Department purchased a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the second quarter valued at $75,954,000. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

RY stock opened at $97.92 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12-month low of $77.90 and a 12-month high of $103.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.05. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.43%. The firm had revenue of $9.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.10 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a $1.0207 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is currently 37.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RY. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Bank of America upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.67.

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.