Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stock Position in Royal Bank Of Canada $RY

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 49,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,351 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Royal Bank Of Canada were worth $7,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in the 2nd quarter valued at about $51,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Royal Bank Of Canada by 86.5% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Avalon Trust Co bought a new stake in Royal Bank Of Canada in the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in the second quarter worth approximately $77,000. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Royal Bank Of Canada Stock Performance

Royal Bank Of Canada stock opened at $169.43 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $169.25 and its 200 day moving average is $153.65. The company has a market capitalization of $236.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.89, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.79. Royal Bank Of Canada has a twelve month low of $106.10 and a twelve month high of $176.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Royal Bank Of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The financial services provider reported $2.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $12.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.12 billion. Royal Bank Of Canada had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 16.83%. Royal Bank Of Canada’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.07 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Royal Bank Of Canada will post 9.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Royal Bank Of Canada Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 24th. Investors of record on Monday, January 26th will be given a $1.64 dividend. This is a boost from Royal Bank Of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 26th. This represents a $6.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Royal Bank Of Canada’s payout ratio is currently 47.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Royal Bank Of Canada from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note on Monday, November 24th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. National Bank Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Royal Bank Of Canada in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.00.

Royal Bank Of Canada Company Profile

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY) is a diversified financial services company and one of Canada’s largest banks. Founded in 1864 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the firm is now headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. It provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutional clients through a network of branches, digital platforms and international offices.

RBC operates across several principal business segments including personal and commercial banking, wealth management, insurance, investor and treasury services, capital markets, and global asset management.