Topic: How To Invest

Dividend Advisor Hotline – Friday, December 9, 2022

Article Excerpt

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, $130.91, Toronto symbol RY, is a buy. The bank is raising its quarterly dividend by 3.1%. Starting with the February 2023 payment, investors will receive $1.32 a share instead of $1.28. The new annual rate of $5.28 yields a solid 4.0%. Royal has also agreed to pay $13.5 billion in cash for the Canadian operations of U.K.-based HSBC Holdings plc (New York symbol HSBC). Those include 130 branches, which mainly cater to businesses in industries that trade and bank internationally. HSBC also provides banking and wealth management services to over 770,000 retail clients. In all, it has total assets of $134 billion. If Royal can win the necessary regulatory approvals, it aims to complete the purchase in late 2023. The bank expects it will cost $1 billion to integrate the new operations, but also expects to realize annual cost savings of $740 million by the end of the second year. Meantime, Royal’s earnings in its fiscal 2022 fourth quarter, ended…