Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) is Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s Largest Position

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 360.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 881,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 689,904 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada makes up about 5.4% of Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $106,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 75.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,866,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,229,834,000 after buying an additional 7,702,585 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,112,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,338,156,000 after buying an additional 921,276 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,390,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $805,616,000 after buying an additional 541,760 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 3,583,817 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $431,892,000 after buying an additional 15,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,548,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $427,589,000 after buying an additional 64,450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock opened at $113.71 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $117.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.88. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of $95.84 and a 12 month high of $128.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be issued a $1.0251 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is 45.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on RY. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. CIBC reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.50.

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.