Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Stock Holdings in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in Raymond James Financial by 29% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 70,678 shares worth about $11.35 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: the stock has an overall "Hold" rating, with 4 Buy ratings and 9 Hold ratings, and an average price target of $173.25.
• Raymond James reported Q2 EPS of $2.83, topping estimates, while revenue rose 13.4% year over year; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 29.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 70,678 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 15,895 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Raymond James Financial were worth $11,350,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RJF. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,142 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 41.8% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 15,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,164,000 after buying an additional 4,592 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 137.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $182,000 after buying an additional 685 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,268 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at about $363,000. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Raymond James Financial from $171.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Raymond James Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $166.00 price objective (up from $158.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $173.25.

Raymond James Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RJF opened at $150.17 on Friday. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $138.82 and a fifty-two week high of $177.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $149.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $29.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.99.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last issued 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. 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 analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. Raymond James Financial's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Raymond James Financial

In other news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 29,551 shares of Raymond James Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 53,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,627,431.24. This trade represents a 35.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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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