Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) Rating Lowered to Hold at TD Securities

TD Securities lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY) (NYSE:RY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. TD Securities currently has C$180.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of C$178.00.

RY has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$145.00 to C$150.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$162.00 to C$180.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from C$159.50 to C$172.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Royal Bank of Canada from C$151.00 to C$165.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Three equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Royal Bank of Canada has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$163.54.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Down 0.5 %

TSE RY traded down C$0.92 on Friday, hitting C$171.13. The stock had a trading volume of 4,504,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,882,674. The company’s 50-day moving average is C$169.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$155.43. Royal Bank of Canada has a one year low of C$115.57 and a one year high of C$175.04. The stock has a market cap of C$241.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16, a P/E/G 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$2.95 by C$0.31. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 13.68% and a net margin of 28.67%. The business had revenue of C$14.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$14.27 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 12.3454675 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid 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 yield of 3.32%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David Ian Mckay sold 74,852 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 25 shares in the company, valued at C$4,115. The trade was a 99.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 144,770 shares of company stock worth $23,959,265.

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.