Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Has $24.96 Million Holdings in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Key Points

• Basswood Capital Management boosted its Raymond James Financial stake by 56.2% in the fourth quarter, ending with 155,430 shares valued at about $24.96 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock has a consensus Hold rating with a consensus price target of $172.92, though some firms recently raised targets while others trimmed them.
• Raymond James reported Q2 EPS of $2.83, topping estimates, and it announced a quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share, implying a 1.4% annual yield.

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 56.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 55,943 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial makes up approximately 1.0% of Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. owned about 0.08% of Raymond James Financial worth $24,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial during the third quarter worth $33,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 452.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 210 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on RJF shares. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $159.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $166.00 target price (up from $158.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Raymond James Financial from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $182.00 target price (up from $174.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $172.92.

Insider Activity at Raymond James Financial

In other news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 29,551 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.34, for a total value of $4,206,289.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 53,586 shares in the company, valued at $7,627,431.24. The trade was a 35.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Raymond James Financial Stock Up 2.5%

NYSE:RJF opened at $154.25 on Friday. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $138.82 and a 1 year high of $177.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $30.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.58, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $151.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.53.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.07. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 13.04%.The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial's payout ratio is 20.42%.

About Raymond James Financial

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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