Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$154.62 and traded as high as C$173.05. Royal Bank of Canada shares last traded at C$172.43, with a volume of 1,967,300 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$157.00 to C$154.00 in a report on Monday, August 19th. CIBC lifted their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$166.00 to C$167.00 in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Desjardins lifted their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$156.00 to C$163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on Royal Bank of Canada from C$145.00 to C$150.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Royal Bank of Canada from C$168.00 to C$165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Royal Bank of Canada presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$163.54.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Down 0.5 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is C$169.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$155.17. The company has a market cap of C$241.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.10, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.84.

Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The financial services provider reported C$3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$2.95 by C$0.31. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 28.67% and a return on equity of 13.68%. The business had revenue of C$14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$14.27 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 12.3454675 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $1.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.31%.

Insider Activity at Royal Bank of Canada

In other news, Director David Ian Mckay sold 74,852 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$164.59, for a total transaction of C$12,320,115.24. Also, Senior Officer Douglas Antony Guzman sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$164.60, for a total transaction of C$1,646,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 25 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$4,115. This trade represents a 99.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold 144,770 shares of company stock worth $23,959,265 in the last quarter.

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.