Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 64.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,584 shares during the quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $1,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RY. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 110.3% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Securities cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of RY opened at $124.30 on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of $85.02 and a 1 year high of $126.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $175.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $10.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.40 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.28% and a return on equity of 15.17%. On average, equities analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th were given a $1.028 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $4.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.79%.

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.