Virtu Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 50.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,382 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 64.7% during 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 during the period. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 131.0% during the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 192.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on RY shares. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.25.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

NYSE RY opened at $107.43 on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52 week low of $77.90 and a 52 week high of $112.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $152.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $107.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $102.47.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $10.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.95 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.12% and a return on equity of 14.87%. Analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.59 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 25th will be paid a $1.03 dividend. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.49%.

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.