Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Grows Stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 3.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,483,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 122,311 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.25% of Royal Bank of Canada worth $435,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 2,711 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 15.0% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 397 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 29.0% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.1% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 345,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,812,000 after buying an additional 3,639 shares during the period. Finally, Tremblant Capital Group boosted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 71.8% during the 1st quarter. Tremblant Capital Group now owns 13,429 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,355,000 after acquiring an additional 5,612 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:RY opened at $125.09 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $123.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.40. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12-month low of $85.02 and a 12-month high of $126.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $10.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, research analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $4.11 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on RY shares. Barclays raised Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, TD Securities cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.50.

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.