Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 43,097 Shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 63.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,355 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 43,097 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Raymond James Financial were worth $3,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 8.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,142 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 41.8% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 15,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,164,000 after buying an additional 4,592 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 137.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 685 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 15.1% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $348,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $363,000. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Raymond James Financial from $172.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $162.00 to $161.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $179.64.

Raymond James Financial Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of RJF stock opened at $177.50 on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $138.82 and a 12-month high of $178.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $157.90 and a 200-day moving average of $156.66. The company has a market capitalization of $34.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.93.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.87 billion. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.57% and a return on equity of 19.17%. The firm's revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 12.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial's payout ratio is 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Raymond James Financial

In other news, insider Steven M. Raney sold 5,770 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.97, for a total transaction of $998,036.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 43,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,445,666.62. This represents a 11.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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