Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Raymond James Financial, Inc. by 16.4%, ending the first quarter with approximately 309,232 shares valued at $42.95 million.
• Several large institutional investors, including Victory Capital Management Inc. and GAMMA Investing LLC, significantly increased their holdings in Raymond James Financial, indicating heightened interest in the company.
• Raymond James Financial recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, yielding approximately 1.2%, with the ex-dividend date set for October 1st.

Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 16.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 309,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 60,811 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.15% of Raymond James Financial worth $42,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RJF. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Raymond James Financial by 1,502.0% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,883,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $261,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,765,588 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Raymond James Financial in the first quarter worth $111,368,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Raymond James Financial by 25,259.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 674,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $93,740,000 after acquiring an additional 672,164 shares in the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. purchased a new position in Raymond James Financial in the fourth quarter worth $81,611,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Raymond James Financial by 19.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,901,435 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $403,038,000 after acquiring an additional 466,129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company's stock.

Raymond James Financial Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:RJF traded down $1.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $166.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 701,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 817,549. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $162.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.91 and a twelve month high of $174.32. The stock has a market cap of $33.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.04.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.18). Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 18.38% and a net margin of 13.56%.The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.39 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.17 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $136.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Raymond James Financial from $151.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Raymond James Financial from $155.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Raymond James Financial from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Raymond James Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $163.80.

Raymond James Financial Company 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.