Rafferty Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Raymond James Financial, Inc. by 6.3%, now holding 60,460 shares worth approximately $8.4 million.
• Several institutional investors altered their stakes in Raymond James Financial, with 83.83% of the stock currently owned by such investors.
• Raymond James reported $2.18 EPS last quarter, missing expectations, but showed a 5.3% year-over-year revenue increase.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,097 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Raymond James Financial were worth $8,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FORA Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 216.7% in the first quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 42,699 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,931,000 after purchasing an additional 29,218 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 187.8% in the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 211,724 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,411,000 after purchasing an additional 138,154 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 99.0% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,891 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936 shares during the last quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 28.5% in the first quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 48,543 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,743,000 after purchasing an additional 10,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantitative Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 427.1% in the first quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC now owns 7,696 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 6,236 shares during the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RJF has been the topic of several research reports. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Raymond James Financial from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $151.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $155.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $163.80.

Raymond James Financial Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:RJF traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $169.52. 843,298 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 857,490. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 1 year low of $113.91 and a 1 year high of $174.32. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $161.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $150.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.18). Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.39 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial's payout ratio is 19.61%.

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.