Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases 33,063 Shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group boosted its stake in Raymond James by 1,228.2% in Q3, adding 33,063 shares to hold 35,755 shares worth about $6.17 million.
• Other large institutional moves included Norges Bank initiating a roughly $354.4 million position and JPMorgan increasing its stake to 5.616 million shares (~$861.5 million), leaving institutions with about 83.83% ownership of RJF.
• Raymond James beat Q earnings expectations with $2.86 EPS (vs. $2.83 est.) while revenue slightly missed, and declared a $0.54 quarterly dividend ($2.16 annualized, ~1.4% yield).

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 1,228.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 33,063 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Raymond James Financial were worth $6,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $354,446,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake 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 worth $861,479,000 after buying an additional 1,651,380 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Raymond James Financial by 39.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,485,569 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $381,212,000 after buying an additional 709,315 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $105,581,000 after buying an additional 442,340 shares during the period. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $69,861,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company's stock.

Raymond James Financial Trading Down 0.7%

RJF stock opened at $151.05 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $163.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.57 and a fifty-two week high of $177.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.00.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.07% and a return on equity of 17.65%. The company's revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.93 EPS. Analysts expect that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 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 21.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Raymond James Financial

In related news, insider Paul C. Reilly sold 130,687 shares of Raymond James Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.15, for a total transaction of $21,321,584.05. Following the transaction, the insider owned 260,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,508,079.90. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RJF. UBS Group set a $176.00 target price on shares of Raymond James Financial and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Barclays started coverage on Raymond James Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $191.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on Raymond James Financial from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Raymond James Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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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