Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Sells 40,090 Shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group sharply reduced its position in Raymond James Financial, selling 40,090 shares in the first quarter and cutting its stake by 89.7%.
• Raymond James reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, posting $2.83 per share versus the $2.76 estimate, while revenue rose 13.4% year over year to $3.86 billion.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 1.3%; analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold on the stock.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI cut its stake in Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 89.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,612 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 40,090 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Raymond James Financial were worth $668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 586.7% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,374 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,272,000 after buying an additional 17,407 shares during the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,179,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 392,663 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,058,000 after buying an additional 25,410 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 107,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,343,000 after acquiring an additional 7,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 41,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,654,000 after acquiring an additional 9,838 shares in the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Raymond James Financial from $172.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $159.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $176.64.

Raymond James Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Raymond James Financial stock opened at $167.55 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $154.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $138.82 and a 52 week high of $177.66.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.07. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. Raymond James Financial's revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.84 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RJF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.