Scotia Capital Inc. Buys 170,644 Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,681,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 170,644 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada accounts for 5.7% of Scotia Capital Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $877,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cigna Investments Inc. New boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New now owns 26,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,661,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 7,830 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 11,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,120,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RY. Barclays began coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Scotiabank raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.67.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Royal Bank of Canada stock traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $109.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,654,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 828,585. The company has a market capitalization of $154.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12-month low of $77.90 and a 12-month high of $109.47. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.35.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $9.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.10 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.12% and a return on equity of 14.98%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.51 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.62%.

Royal Bank of Canada 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.