Armor Investment Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Armor Investment Advisors LLC lessened its position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 3.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Armor Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,695,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,618,566,000 after acquiring an additional 964,898 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 16.7% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 20,232,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,141,681,000 after purchasing an additional 2,901,033 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,127,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,274,000 after purchasing an additional 256,023 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,504,593 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,118,150,000 after buying an additional 190,341 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 75.0% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,320,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $637,460,000 after buying an additional 2,708,534 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RY opened at $122.85 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.53. Royal Bank of Canada has a fifty-two week low of $83.57 and a fifty-two week high of $126.96. The company has a market capitalization of $173.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 15.17% and a net margin of 12.28%. The business had revenue of $10.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.40 billion. Analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th will be paid a $1.028 dividend. This represents a $4.11 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is 50.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.50.

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.