Aviva PLC Has $102.56 Million Position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 852,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 110,754 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.06% of Royal Bank of Canada worth $102,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RY. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,183,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,136,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104,975 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,425,519,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,112,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,338,156,000 after buying an additional 921,276 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,382,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,027,061,000 after buying an additional 1,991,364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,796,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $698,579,000 after acquiring an additional 51,277 shares during the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on RY shares. Cibc World Mkts raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of RY stock opened at $111.13 on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of $95.84 and a 12 month high of $128.05. The company has a market capitalization of $156.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $116.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0251 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.96%.

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.