Royal Bank Of Canada Plans To Repurchase 45 Million Shares; Raises Q4 Dividend

(RTTNews) - Royal Bank of Canada (RY), a Canadian financial services company said on Wednesday that it plans to repurchase 45 million of its common shares. With the latest move, the lender is expected to file a notice of intention with the Toronto Stock Exchange or TSX. Separately, amidst a rise in its earnings during the fourth quarter, the financial services provider also declared an increase to its quarterly common share dividend of 11 percent to C$1.20 per share.

The proposed share repurchases may commence on December 8, 2021 and likely to continue until December 7, 2022 the bank said in a statement. It also added that the purchases may be made through the TSX, the New York Stock Exchange, and other designated exchanges and alternative Canadian trading systems.

The company is expected to pay the prevailing market price to repurchase any number of shares. The proposed shares that may be acquired represent approximately 3.16 percent of the bank's 1.42 billion outstanding common shares as on November 26. "The proposed normal course issuer bid will give us the flexibility to manage the bank's capital position while generating shareholder value. On October 31, the Bank's Common Equity Tier 1, Tier 1 and Total capital ratios were 13.7 per cent, 14.9 per cent and 16.7 per cent, respectively," the lender noted.

Meanwhile, the company will pay a quarterly dividend of C$1.20, per share on February 24, to shareholders of record on January 26.

Royal Bank of Canada also declared dividends for the following non-cumulative first preferred shares, payable on and after February 24, 2022, to the shareholders of record on January 26.

For the fourth quarter, the company's earnings came in at C$3.89 billion or C$2.68 per share. This compares with C$3.25 billion or C$2.23 per share in last year's fourth quarter. The company's revenue for the quarter rose 11.6 percent to C$12.38 billion from C$11.09 billion, last year.