Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF Stake Raised by Swedbank AB

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in Raymond James Financial by 31.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 9,838 shares to bring its total holding to 41,436 shares worth about $6.65 million.
• Raymond James posted stronger-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, with EPS of $2.83 beating estimates, while revenue rose 13.4% year over year to $3.86 billion.
• Analysts remain cautious overall: the stock currently carries a consensus “Hold” rating, with a median price target of $173.25, while the shares recently traded at $154.24 and pay a 1.4% dividend yield.

Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 31.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,838 shares during the period. Swedbank AB's holdings in Raymond James Financial were worth $6,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RJF. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich bought a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $69,861,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,640,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 7,823.8% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 288,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $49,809,000 after buying an additional 284,941 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 44.9% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 783,144 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $135,171,000 after buying an additional 242,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 4.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,847,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,009,342,000 after buying an additional 230,871 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the company's stock.

Raymond James Financial Price Performance

NYSE RJF opened at $154.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.99. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $138.82 and a 12 month high of $177.66. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $149.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.26.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st were given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Raymond James Financial's payout ratio is 20.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Raymond James Financial from $171.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $159.00 price objective (up from $156.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $166.00 price objective (up from $158.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Raymond James Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $173.25.

Insider Transactions at Raymond James Financial

In other Raymond James Financial news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 29,551 shares of Raymond James Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.34, for a total value of $4,206,289.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 53,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,627,431.24. The trade was a 35.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

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.