Sheets Smith Wealth Management Sells 1,331 Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management lowered its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,331 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $820,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RY. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the third quarter worth $34,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in Royal Bank of Canada during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 131.0% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com cut Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Barclays initiated coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Royal Bank of Canada has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.67.

Royal Bank of Canada Stock Performance

Shares of RY stock traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $101.71. 318,775 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,222,344. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52 week low of $77.90 and a 52 week high of $103.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $99.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.37.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.05. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.74% and a net margin of 12.43%. The firm had revenue of $9.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.10 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.0207 dividend. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.01%. Royal Bank of Canada’s payout ratio is 25.31%.

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.