Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Lowers Stock Holdings in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. trimmed its holdings in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 156,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,350 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.08% of Raymond James worth $24,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Raymond James by 176.7% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 166 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in Raymond James by 121.0% in the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 232 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Raymond James by 1,142.1% in the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 236 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Raymond James during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. 83.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RJF. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Raymond James from $180.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Raymond James from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Raymond James from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Raymond James from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Raymond James from $198.00 to $173.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $153.82.

Raymond James Stock Up 0.4 %

RJF stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $137.54. The company had a trading volume of 280,160 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,291,067. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $28.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.87. Raymond James has a fifty-two week low of $104.24 and a fifty-two week high of $174.32.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). Raymond James had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 19.71%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. Raymond James's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Raymond James's payout ratio is currently 19.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider James E. Bunn sold 3,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total transaction of $498,188.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 78,227 shares in the company, valued at $10,677,203.23. This trade represents a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Raymond James Profile

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.