Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 1.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 616,521 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,428 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.30% of Raymond James Financial worth $85,641,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,522,025 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,013,066,000 after buying an additional 137,277 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,392,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $680,378,000 after buying an additional 40,576 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,533,666 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $393,554,000 after buying an additional 24,195 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,435,306 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $378,276,000 after buying an additional 192,904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,107,218 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $327,314,000 after buying an additional 327,739 shares in the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RJF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $149.00 to $143.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $176.00 to $143.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America cut Raymond James Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $159.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $153.82.

Raymond James Financial Stock Performance

NYSE RJF opened at $159.88 on Friday. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $104.24 and a fifty-two week high of $174.32. The stock has a market cap of $32.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $148.07 and a 200-day moving average of $149.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 19.31% and a net margin of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 6,570 shares of Raymond James Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.61, for a total value of $963,227.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 74,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,935,053.46. The trade was a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider James E. Bunn sold 3,650 shares of Raymond James Financial stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total value of $498,188.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 78,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,677,203.23. This represents a 4.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial, Inc, a financial holding company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the underwriting, distribution, trading, and brokerage of equity and debt securities, and the sale of mutual funds and other investment products in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Private Client Group, Capital Markets, Asset Management, RJ Bank, and Other segments.

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