Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes $14.08 Million Position in Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 316,120 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,077,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.28% of Bank OZK at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of OZK. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 543,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,184,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Bank OZK by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 573,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,541,000 after buying an additional 34,240 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Bank OZK by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 46,832 shares of the company's stock worth $2,085,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Bank OZK by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 60,590 shares of the company's stock worth $2,688,000 after acquiring an additional 8,873 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank OZK by 47.6% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 10,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,526 shares during the period. 86.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

OZK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Bank OZK from $59.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Bank OZK from $58.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Bank OZK from $50.00 to $48.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Bank OZK from $48.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.13.

Bank OZK Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ OZK traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $42.72. 811,977 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,332,247. The company has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.80. Bank OZK has a 52 week low of $35.71 and a 52 week high of $53.64.

Bank OZK (NASDAQ:OZK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The company reported $1.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $409.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $403.05 million. Bank OZK had a net margin of 25.83% and a return on equity of 13.90%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank OZK will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank OZK Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 14th were paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. This is a boost from Bank OZK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Bank OZK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.20%.

Bank OZK Company Profile

Bank OZK provides various retail and commercial banking services for individuals and businesses in the United States. The company offers deposit services, including non-interest bearing checking, interest bearing transaction, business sweep, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other accounts, as well as time and reciprocal deposits.