Natixis Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Raymond James by 12.9% in Q3 to 315,859 shares (about $54.52 million), representing roughly 0.16% of the company.
• Other institutions hold large positions—JPMorgan owns about 5.62 million shares (~$861.48 million) and Norges Bank opened a new ~$354.45 million position—leaving institutional ownership at roughly 83.83%.
• Raymond James recently reported $2.86 EPS (beat) on $3.74 billion revenue (slightly below estimates), and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.54 ($2.16 annual, ~1.4% yield); the stock carries a consensus Hold rating with a $182.17 target.

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 315,859 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 36,191 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.16% of Raymond James Financial worth $54,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Raymond James Financial during the second quarter valued at $354,446,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Raymond James Financial by 41.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,616,998 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $861,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,380 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 39.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 709,315 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 179.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 442,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James Financial during the third quarter valued at about $69,861,000. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the company's stock.

Raymond James Financial Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of RJF stock opened at $151.05 on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $117.57 and a 1 year high of $177.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $163.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.87. The company has a market cap of $29.77 billion, a PE ratio of 14.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.00.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 17.65% and a net margin of 13.07%.The firm had revenue of $3.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.93 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. Raymond James Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.14%.

Insider Activity at Raymond James Financial

In related news, insider Paul C. Reilly sold 130,687 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 260,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,508,079.90. This represents a 33.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on RJF. Bank of America boosted their target price on Raymond James Financial from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group set a $176.00 price objective on Raymond James Financial and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Barclays assumed 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. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Raymond James Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated a "positive" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $182.17.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.