Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Shares Sold by QV Investors Inc.

QV Investors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 11.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 521,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 66,646 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada accounts for 5.8% of QV Investors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $65,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of RY. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 47.4% in the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 16,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,664,000 after purchasing an additional 5,302 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 91.3% in the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 19,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,008,000 after buying an additional 9,500 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,504,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,118,150,000 after acquiring an additional 190,341 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 53.0% during the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 73,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,038,000 after acquiring an additional 25,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 509,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,376,000 after acquiring an additional 11,015 shares during the period. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group began coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.8 %

RY stock opened at $124.44 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $119.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.97. The company has a market capitalization of $176.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52 week low of $77.90 and a 52 week high of $125.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $10.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.40 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 15.17% and a net margin of 12.28%. On average, analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be paid a $1.028 dividend. This represents a $4.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.99%.

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.