Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 1,725,525 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 43% from the previous session’s volume of 1,207,125 shares.The stock last traded at $122.22 and had previously closed at $121.02.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Securities lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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 report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 1st. Finally, Barclays raised Royal Bank of Canada from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Up 0.4 %

The stock has a market cap of $173.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 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. The company has a 50 day moving average of $122.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.77.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be given a dividend of $1.0522 per share. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 27th. This represents a $4.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. now owns 59,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,212,000 after purchasing an additional 14,250 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 2,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Five Oceans Advisors lifted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Five Oceans Advisors now owns 8,103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $976,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 45.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.