Aviance Capital Partners LLC Has $355,000 Stock Holdings in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC decreased its position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 118 shares during the period. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in RY. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 13.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 26,666,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,330,506,000 after acquiring an additional 3,062,038 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 26,869,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,718,631,000 after buying an additional 1,369,723 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the fourth quarter worth about $1,220,441,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,127,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,645,444,000 after buying an additional 717,971 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,335,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of RY stock traded down $0.78 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $101.04. 634,532 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,230,324. Royal Bank of Canada has a twelve month low of $77.90 and a twelve month high of $103.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $99.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.73, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.86.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $9.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.10 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 12.43% and a return on equity of 14.74%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.45 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be given a $1.0207 dividend. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on RY shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.67.

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.