Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY – Get Free Report) (TSE:RY) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, December 1st, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 25th will be given a dividend of 1.0155 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 24th.

Royal Bank of Canada has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.6% annually over the last three years. Royal Bank of Canada has a dividend payout ratio of 46.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Royal Bank of Canada to earn $8.52 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.94 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 46.2%.

Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance

RY stock traded up $0.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $91.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,660,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 959,861. The stock has a market cap of $127.70 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Royal Bank of Canada has a fifty-two week low of $77.90 and a fifty-two week high of $104.72. The company’s 50 day moving average is $84.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.42.

Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY – Get Free Report) (TSE:RY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.13. Royal Bank of Canada had a net margin of 13.51% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The business had revenue of $9.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.09 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Credit Suisse Group increased their price target on shares of Royal Bank of Canada from $138.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Royal Bank of Canada currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.60.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on RY

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Royal Bank of Canada

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 817,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,144,000 after purchasing an additional 41,346 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 7,030 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 23,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,591,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 47.1% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 1,582 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thomas White International Ltd. grew its position in Royal Bank of Canada by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Thomas White International Ltd. now owns 15,778 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,740,000 after purchasing an additional 701 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.02% of the company’s stock.

About Royal Bank of Canada (Get Free Report)

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.

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Original: MarketBeat News Feed: Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) Announces $1.02 Quarterly Dividend