Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Reduces Stock Position in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Key Points

• Pinnacle Associates Ltd. cut its Raymond James Financial stake by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 7,745 shares and leaving it with 115,830 shares valued at about $18.6 million.
• Insider selling also occurred, with Bella Loykhter Allaire selling 29,551 shares for about $4.21 million, reducing her ownership by 35.54%.
• Raymond James Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $2.83 versus $2.76 expected, while revenue came in slightly below forecasts; analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $173.25.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lessened its holdings in Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 115,830 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,745 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. owned 0.06% of Raymond James Financial worth $18,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial in the third quarter worth $33,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial in the third quarter worth $33,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 452.6% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 210 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 29,551 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RJF. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $166.00 price objective (up from $158.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $159.00 price objective (up from $156.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $171.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $182.00 target price (up from $174.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $173.25.

Raymond James Financial Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:RJF opened at $154.00 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $149.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.91. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $138.82 and a 12-month high of $177.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

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 (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.42%.

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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