Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF Position Reduced by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP reduced its stake in Raymond James Financial by 19.9% in the first quarter, selling 612,508 shares. The firm still held 2.46 million shares worth about $356.1 million at quarter-end.
• Raymond James Financial reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.83 per share, topping estimates by $0.07, while revenue rose 13.4% year over year to $3.86 billion.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” with an average price target of $176.64, even though several firms recently raised their targets.

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its position in Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 19.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,459,488 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 612,508 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 1.26% of Raymond James Financial worth $356,109,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,076 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in Raymond James Financial by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Raymond James Financial by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 5,261 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $892,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 4.3% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RJF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Raymond James Financial from $172.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $175.00 price objective (up from $166.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Raymond James Financial from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Raymond James Financial from $182.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $159.00 to $155.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $176.64.

Raymond James Financial Trading Down 0.2%

Raymond James Financial stock opened at $168.03 on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $138.82 and a 12 month high of $177.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $32.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.93. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $156.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.45.

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, 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 business had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. Raymond James Financial's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Raymond James Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.42%.

About Raymond James Financial

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.