Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Shares Sold by Hilltop National Bank

Hilltop National Bank cut its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 119 shares during the quarter. Hilltop National Bank’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $874,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 7,702,585 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 13,622,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,706,833,000 after purchasing an additional 124,348 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,127,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,289,274,000 after purchasing an additional 256,023 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% in 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 buying an additional 190,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 9.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,390,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $805,616,000 after acquiring an additional 541,760 shares during the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of RY stock traded down $3.40 on Friday, hitting $118.27. The stock had a trading volume of 231,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 656,101. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $123.04 and its 200-day moving average is $118.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.87. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52-week low of $93.97 and a 52-week high of $128.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.0522 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. This represents a $4.21 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is currently 52.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. TD Securities lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.50.

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.