Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 150,805 Shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group cut its Raymond James Financial stake by 97.6% in the second quarter, selling 150,805 shares and retaining 3,764 shares valued at approximately $572,000.
• Raymond James reported quarterly EPS of $3.14, beating estimates of $2.91, while revenue rose 15.6% year over year to $3.93 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share, equivalent to a 1.3% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with five Buy ratings and nine Holds, producing an overall “Hold” consensus and an average price target of $181.46 versus the stock’s reported $164.53 price.

Baird Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 97.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,764 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 150,805 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Raymond James Financial were worth $572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 0.4% during the second quarter. New England Professional Planning Group Inc. now owns 46,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,145,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 4.4% in the second quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 54,515 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,288,000 after buying an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 3.3% in the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 6,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $976,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Nykredit A S bought a new position in Raymond James Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,809,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Raymond James Financial by 19.3% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 478,939 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,813,000 after buying an additional 77,638 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RJF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citizens Jmp boosted their target price on shares of Raymond James Financial from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Truist Financial set a $188.00 price target on shares of Raymond James Financial and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $172.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Raymond James Financial currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $181.46.

Raymond James Financial Stock Performance

Shares of RJF opened at $164.53 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $174.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.66. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $138.82 and a 12 month high of $182.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.91.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.23. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 13.57%.The company had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.18 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 12.08 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Raymond James Financial's payout ratio is 18.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Raymond James Financial news, insider Tashtego Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.06, for a total transaction of $1,760,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,942,770.84. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven Raney sold 5,770 shares of Raymond James Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.97, for a total transaction of $998,036.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 43,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,445,666.62. This represents a 11.82% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,270 shares of company stock worth $4,090,637. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Raymond James Financial Profile

Raymond James Financial, Inc is a diversified financial services company headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1962, the company provides investment, wealth management and financial planning services to individuals, corporations, institutions and municipalities.

Through its principal businesses, Raymond James offers securities brokerage, investment advisory, retirement planning, trust services and banking products. Its operations also include equity and debt capital markets, investment banking, institutional sales and trading, research, and asset management.

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