California State Teachers Retirement System Raises Stake in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Key Points

• CalSTRS dramatically increased its Raymond James Financial stake by 14,565.3% in the second quarter, adding 39.2 million shares to own approximately 20.52% of the company, valued at $6.0 billion. Institutional investors collectively hold 83.83% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: five analysts rate the stock a Buy and nine rate it Hold, resulting in a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $181.46.
• Raymond James exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.14 in EPS versus $2.91 expected, while revenue rose 15.6% year over year to $3.93 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share, yielding approximately 1.2%.

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 14,565.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,471,093 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 39,201,946 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 20.52% of Raymond James Financial worth $6,000,790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 4.0% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 10,764 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 14,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,138,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank increased its position in Raymond James Financial by 79.3% during the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 12,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,888,000 after buying an additional 5,493 shares in the last quarter. AlphaGrep UK Ltd bought a new position in Raymond James Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $919,000. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich raised its stake in Raymond James Financial by 2.7% during the second quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich now owns 491,089 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,660,000 after buying an additional 12,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Argus boosted their target price on Raymond James Financial from $178.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Raymond James Financial from $172.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Citizens Jmp upped their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $175.00 price objective (up from $160.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $181.46.

Raymond James Financial Stock Performance

Shares of RJF opened at $175.56 on Thursday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $174.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $138.82 and a 12 month high of $182.73. The company has a market cap of $33.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.91.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $3.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.18 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 12.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Raymond James Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Raymond James Financial

In other news, insider Steven M. Raney sold 5,770 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 43,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,445,666.62. The trade was a 11.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bella Allaire sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.60, for a total transaction of $1,332,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,184,873.60. This trade represents a 14.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,270 shares of company stock worth $4,090,637. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

About Raymond James Financial

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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