Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Cuts Position in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its Raymond James Financial stake by 42% in the fourth quarter, selling 22,457 shares and leaving it with 30,991 shares worth about $4.98 million.
• Raymond James reported Q4 EPS of $2.83, topping analyst estimates, while revenue reached $3.86 billion and rose 13.4% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share, payable July 15, for an annualized yield of about 1.4%; analysts currently have a consensus rating of Hold with a target price of $172.92.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its stake in Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 42.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 22,457 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Raymond James Financial were worth $4,977,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,076 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,763,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $447,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 5,261 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $892,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Raymond James Financial

In other news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 29,551 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 53,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,627,431.24. This represents a 35.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Raymond James Financial Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of RJF stock opened at $151.48 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $150.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.52 billion, a PE ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.94. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $138.82 and a fifty-two week high of $177.66.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 13.04%.The company's revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. 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 disclosed 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. 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 1.4%. Raymond James Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RJF. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Raymond James Financial from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Raymond James Financial from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Raymond James Financial from $171.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $166.00 target price (up from $158.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and set a $182.00 price target (up from $174.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Raymond James Financial has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $172.92.

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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