Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s What Happened

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 1,725,525 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 43% from the previous session’s volume of 1,207,125 shares.The stock last traded at $122.22 and had previously closed at $121.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RY. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. TD Securities downgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Bank of Canada presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Up 0.9 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $172.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $122.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.66.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be given a $1.0522 dividend. This represents a $4.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is 50.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 7,702,585 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 165.1% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,896,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804,022 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $153,217,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,390,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $805,616,000 after purchasing an additional 541,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,336,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $291,925,000 after acquiring an additional 359,719 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Company 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.