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Royal Bank of Canada boosted its quarterly dividend more than expected after double-digit earnings growth at the bank’s wealth management division helped boost third quarter results.

Canada’s largest bank by market capitalization posted overall earnings of $2.8 billion for the period ending June 30. Earnings per share after one-time items — including last year’s sale of a home and auto insurance division — were $1.89, two cents above analyst estimates.

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The quarterly dividend was boosted by four cents, or five per cent, to 91 cents.

“We view the dividend surprise… as a positive signal to RY’s (Royal Bank’s) near-term outlook,” Scott Chan, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity, said in a note to clients.

Part of the performance in RBC’s wealth management division was attributed to City National, a U.S. private banking and wealth management firm acquired in 2015. Wealth management net income rose 25 per cent to $486 million.