Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 163.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 160,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 99,523 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $16,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 1.8% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,903,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $516,224,000 after buying an additional 105,776 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp increased its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 4.9% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 4,375,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $383,474,000 after purchasing an additional 205,658 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 32.6% during the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 117,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,275,000 after purchasing an additional 28,863 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 59.0% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 19,713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,723,000 after purchasing an additional 7,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 3.9% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 21,680 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,896,000 after acquiring an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

RY opened at $100.39 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.94. The firm has a market cap of $142.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.64, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a twelve month low of $77.90 and a twelve month high of $102.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $9.98 billion during 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.0207 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. This is an increase from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is 37.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RY has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.50.

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.