Legal & General Group Plc Has $191.33 Million Stake in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in Raymond James Financial by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, but still held 1.19 million shares valued at about $191.3 million.
• Raymond James reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.83 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 13.4% year over year to $3.86 billion.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share, and analysts currently view the stock as a Hold overall with a consensus price target of $173.25.

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,191,415 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 59,988 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.60% of Raymond James Financial worth $191,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RJF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 4.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,847,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,009,342,000 after purchasing an additional 230,871 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 4.5% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,597,519 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $448,332,000 after purchasing an additional 111,950 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 10.7% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,357,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $406,941,000 after purchasing an additional 227,337 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 2.8% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 932,602 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $160,968,000 after purchasing an additional 25,018 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 841,859 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $135,194,000 after purchasing an additional 227,781 shares during the period. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Raymond James Financial news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 29,551 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.34, for a total transaction of $4,206,289.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 53,586 shares in the company, valued at $7,627,431.24. This trade represents a 35.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Raymond James Financial Price Performance

Raymond James Financial stock opened at $145.39 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $149.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.37. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $138.82 and a one year high of $177.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $28.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.99.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. The company's revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on RJF shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Morgan Stanley increased 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. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $159.00 target price (up from $156.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Raymond James Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $173.25.

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.

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