Steph & Co. Increases Position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Steph & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Steph & Co.’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $119,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of RJF. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Raymond James by 1.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,689,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,383,900,000 after acquiring an additional 410,025 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Raymond James by 2.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,570,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,161,981,000 after acquiring an additional 246,349 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Raymond James by 26.7% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,876,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $641,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,448,047 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Raymond James by 1.9% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,018,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $373,915,000 after acquiring an additional 76,385 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Raymond James by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,278,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,433,000 after acquiring an additional 591,327 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Art A. Garcia acquired 879 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $112.30 per share, with a total value of $98,711.70. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $98,711.70. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Raymond James news, EVP Jonathan N. Santelli sold 1,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.91, for a total value of $211,621.81. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,405,057.81. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Art A. Garcia purchased 879 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $112.30 per share, for a total transaction of $98,711.70. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,711.70. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.74% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE RJF traded up $0.07 on Wednesday, hitting $121.94. The stock had a trading volume of 1,145,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,025,889. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $121.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Raymond James has a 52-week low of $82.00 and a 52-week high of $131.19. The stock has a market cap of $25.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.15. Raymond James had a net margin of 12.81% and a return on equity of 17.95%. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Raymond James will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RJF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Raymond James from $112.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $116.00 price objective (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Raymond James in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $116.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $116.50 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.88.

About Raymond James

Raymond James Financial, Inc, a financial holding company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the underwriting, distribution, trading, and brokerage of equity and debt securities, and the sale of mutual funds and other investment products in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Private Client Group, Capital Markets, Asset Management, RJ Bank, and Other segments.