Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Shares Sold by Godsey & Gibb Inc.

Godsey & Gibb Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,988 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada makes up 2.4% of Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Godsey & Gibb Inc.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $24,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 75.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 17,866,021 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,229,834,000 after purchasing an additional 7,702,585 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 165.1% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,896,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,532,000 after buying an additional 1,804,022 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the third quarter valued at $153,217,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,390,914 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $805,616,000 after acquiring an additional 541,760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,336,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $291,925,000 after acquiring an additional 359,719 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $193.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. TD Securities cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.50.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of RY opened at $119.64 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $122.81 and a 200-day moving average of $119.21. The company has a market cap of $169.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 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. Royal Bank of Canada has a 1 year low of $93.97 and a 1 year high of $128.05.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 24th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 27th will be paid a dividend of $1.0522 per share. This represents a $4.21 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. 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. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is presently 50.85%.

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.