Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Holdings Cut by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 835,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 86,271 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $100,657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,425,519,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 31.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,382,278 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,027,061,000 after buying an additional 1,991,364 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 59,183,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,136,056,000 after buying an additional 1,104,975 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 11,112,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,338,156,000 after acquiring an additional 921,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Canada LTD. lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. now owns 2,160,865 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $260,373,000 after acquiring an additional 904,909 shares during the last quarter. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RY. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. CIBC upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

NYSE:RY opened at $111.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of $95.84 and a 1 year high of $128.05. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.69.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a $1.0251 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $4.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is presently 45.96%.

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.