Sara Bay Financial Takes $661,000 Position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Sara Bay Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,484 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $661,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 2,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 8,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,042,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,170,000. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 17,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 39,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,811,000 after acquiring an additional 3,396 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of RY traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $120.46. 1,588,793 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 675,270. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $122.66 and a 200-day moving average of $119.21. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52 week low of $93.97 and a 52 week high of $128.05. The stock has a market cap of $170.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.58, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.87. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, January 27th will be issued a $1.0522 dividend. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 27th. This represents a $4.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RY has been the subject of several analyst reports. 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 1st. TD Securities downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.50.

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.