Earnest Partners LLC Has $426.64 Million Stock Holdings in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Raymond James Financial by 0.4%, now owning 2,471,824 shares worth ~$426.64 million, representing about 1.24% of the company and the firm's sixth-largest holding.
• Institutional interest is high at 83.83% ownership; notable moves include Norges Bank's new ~$354.4M stake and JPMorgan increasing its position to ~5.62M shares (~$861.5M).
• Raymond James posts solid fundamentals with a $28.8B market cap, P/E of 14.29, an earnings beat of $2.86 vs. $2.83 consensus, and a quarterly dividend of $0.54 (1.5% yield).

Earnest Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,471,824 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,911 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial accounts for approximately 1.9% of Earnest Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Earnest Partners LLC owned approximately 1.24% of Raymond James Financial worth $426,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $354,446,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Raymond James Financial by 41.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,616,998 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $861,479,000 after buying an additional 1,651,380 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 39.9% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,485,569 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $381,212,000 after purchasing an additional 709,315 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Raymond James Financial by 179.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 688,405 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $105,581,000 after buying an additional 442,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial during the third quarter worth $69,861,000. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Raymond James Financial Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:RJF opened at $146.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock's 50-day moving average is $162.36 and its 200-day moving average is $163.35. The company has a market cap of $28.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.00. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $117.57 and a 52-week high of $177.66.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.83 billion. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 17.65% and a net margin of 13.07%.The firm's revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Raymond James Financial's payout ratio is 21.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Raymond James Financial

In other news, insider Paul C. Reilly sold 130,687 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.15, for a total value of $21,321,584.05. Following the sale, the insider owned 260,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,508,079.90. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Raymond James Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $191.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen restated a "hold" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $182.17.

Raymond James Financial Company 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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