Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $1.03

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 28th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of 1.0251 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th.

Royal Bank of Canada has increased its dividend payment by an average of 8.7% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 14 consecutive years. Royal Bank of Canada has a dividend payout ratio of 41.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Royal Bank of Canada to earn $10.10 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.2%.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:RY traded up $2.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $118.17. 1,087,314 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,272,711. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $120.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.38. The company has a market cap of $167.13 billion, a PE ratio of 14.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.87. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of $95.84 and a 12 month high of $128.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on RY shares. StockNews.com downgraded 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 report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.50.

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.