Rhumbline Advisers Reduces Stock Position in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Rhumbline Advisers cut its holdings in Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) by 1.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 356,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,720 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Raymond James Financial were worth $61,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Raymond James Financial in the second quarter worth about $354,446,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Raymond James Financial by 41.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,616,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $861,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,380 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 39.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,485,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $381,212,000 after purchasing an additional 709,315 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 179.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 688,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,581,000 after purchasing an additional 442,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 824.7% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 438,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,209,000 after purchasing an additional 390,821 shares during the period. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Raymond James Financial Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:RJF opened at $157.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $31.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.00. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $117.57 and a twelve month high of $177.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $166.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.97.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.83 billion. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.07% and a return on equity of 17.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.17 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Raymond James Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Raymond James Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 21.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on RJF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Raymond James Financial from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated a “positive” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $174.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group set a $176.00 price target on shares of Raymond James Financial and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $182.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Raymond James Financial

In other news, insider Paul C. Reilly sold 130,687 shares of Raymond James Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.15, for a total transaction of $21,321,584.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 260,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,508,079.90. The trade was a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Financial Profile

Raymond James Financial is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1962, the company provides a range of services to individual investors, businesses and institutions through a combination of wealth management, capital markets, investment banking, asset management, banking and trust services. Its business model centers on a network of financial advisors and broker-dealer operations that deliver personalized financial planning, investment advisory services and brokerage solutions.

The firm’s core offerings include private client wealth management delivered by independent and employee advisors, equity and fixed-income research, institutional sales and trading, and investment banking services such as mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising.