Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) is Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc.’s 8th Largest Position

Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 785,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,081 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada comprises 3.9% of Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $79,315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the 1st quarter valued at $49,000. Addison Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 192.2% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 716 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RY has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Argus increased their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.25.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RY traded up $1.55 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $107.53. 714,288 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,085,658. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52 week low of $77.90 and a 52 week high of $109.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.82. The company has a market cap of $152.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.12. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.12% and a return on equity of 14.87%. The company had revenue of $10.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.95 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 25th will be given a dividend of $1.03 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.