24,887 Shares in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Acquired by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 24,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,106,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 110.3% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RY opened at $123.15 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $123.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a fifty-two week low of $85.02 and a fifty-two week high of $126.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $10.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.40 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.28% and a return on equity of 15.17%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.028 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $4.11 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RY. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $151.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.50.

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.