National Pension Service Buys 13,273 Shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Raymond James Financial stake by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 13,273 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 294,078 shares worth about $47.2 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with several major investors also adding to positions and institutions collectively holding 83.83% of Raymond James Financial’s shares.
• Raymond James Financial reported solid quarterly results and a dividend, posting EPS of $2.83 vs. $2.76 expected, while revenue rose 13.4% year over year; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.54 per share.

National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 294,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,273 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.15% of Raymond James Financial worth $47,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd 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 raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 4.5% during the 3rd 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 raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 10.7% during the 3rd 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. raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 2.8% during the 3rd 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 raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 37.1% during the 4th 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 29,551 shares of Raymond James Financial 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 53,586 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RJF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Raymond James Financial from $159.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $182.00 target price (up from $174.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $172.92.

Raymond James Financial Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of RJF opened at $143.30 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $149.83 and a 200 day moving average of $157.09. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $138.82 and a fifty-two week high of $177.66. The firm has a market cap of $27.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.07.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 company 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 posted $2.42 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.84 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Raymond James Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.42%.

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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