West Family Investments Inc. Boosts Stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

West Family Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,507 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 346 shares during the quarter. West Family Investments Inc.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the third quarter worth $26,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter valued at $44,000. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 131.0% in the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on RY shares. Barclays started coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.67.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of Royal Bank of Canada stock traded up $1.20 on Thursday, reaching $98.58. 178,758 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,197,594. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company’s 50-day moving average is $99.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.07. The firm has a market cap of $139.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.85. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1-year low of $77.90 and a 1-year high of $103.88.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.05. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.43%. The firm had revenue of $9.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.10 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $1.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.31%.

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.