Legal & General Group Plc Sells 2,234,230 Shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY)

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its stake in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY) (TSE:RY) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,218,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,234,230 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.58% of Royal Bank of Canada worth $990,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RY. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada during the third quarter worth about $25,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Royal Bank of Canada in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 45.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Royal Bank of Canada Trading Down 3.5 %

NYSE:RY opened at $111.13 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a fifty day moving average of $116.60 and a 200 day moving average of $120.68. Royal Bank of Canada has a 52 week low of $95.84 and a 52 week high of $128.05.

Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.0251 per share. This represents a $4.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on RY shares. CIBC raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.50.

About Royal Bank of Canada

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.