Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Position in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 19.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,106 shares during the quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of RY. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 5.3% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 817,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,144,000 after buying an additional 41,346 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 5.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 7,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $775,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 2.0% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 23,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,591,000 after buying an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 47.1% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 1,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thomas White International Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 4.6% in the first quarter. Thomas White International Ltd. now owns 15,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 701 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on RY shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Royal Bank of Canada from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays started coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.67.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

Royal Bank of Canada stock traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $96.78. 821,002 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,191,970. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $98.96 and its 200-day moving average is $94.09. Royal Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of $77.90 and a 12 month high of $103.88. The stock has a market cap of $136.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 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, 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 company had revenue of $9.98 billion during 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 EPS for the current year.

Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $1.0207 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. This is a positive change from Royal Bank of Canada’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.22%. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.66%.

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.