Raymond James Financial Inc. Sells 19,272 Shares of FirstCash Holdings, Inc. $FCFS

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. has decreased its holdings in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. by 11.0%, selling 19,272 shares and owning 156,103 shares valued at approximately $18.78 million at the end of the most recent quarter.
• FirstCash has experienced various changes in institutional investments, with Stephens Investment Management increasing its stake by 14.5%, now owning 888,834 shares valued at $106.95 million.
• The company reported a strong quarterly earnings result, with an EPS of $1.79 exceeding estimates, and has raised its dividend to $0.42 per share, reflecting a positive change from the previous payout.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lessened its stake in FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCFS - Free Report) by 11.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 156,103 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,272 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.35% of FirstCash worth $18,782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its stake in FirstCash by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 888,834 shares of the company's stock worth $106,945,000 after purchasing an additional 112,349 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 6.5% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 650,458 shares of the company's stock worth $78,385,000 after purchasing an additional 39,537 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of FirstCash by 14.3% in the first quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 640,521 shares of the company's stock worth $77,067,000 after purchasing an additional 79,930 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of FirstCash by 9.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 585,302 shares of the company's stock worth $60,637,000 after buying an additional 50,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in FirstCash during the first quarter valued at approximately $55,340,000. 80.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

FirstCash Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:FCFS traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $147.27. 354,445 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 295,121. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.62 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $135.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.32. FirstCash Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $100.24 and a 1 year high of $148.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 4.21 and a quick ratio of 3.12.

FirstCash (NASDAQ:FCFS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $1.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.13. FirstCash had a return on equity of 16.63% and a net margin of 8.61%.The firm had revenue of $830.62 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $820.42 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. FirstCash's quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that FirstCash Holdings, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

FirstCash Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from FirstCash's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. FirstCash's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FCFS. Capital One Financial set a $160.00 target price on shares of FirstCash in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of FirstCash to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of FirstCash from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of FirstCash in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $142.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other FirstCash news, insider Howard F. Hambleton sold 3,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.93, for a total value of $510,627.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,481 shares in the company, valued at $4,252,737.33. This represents a 10.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Rick L. Wessel sold 69,024 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.49, for a total transaction of $9,559,133.76. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 932,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,205,353.42. This trade represents a 6.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,900 shares of company stock valued at $15,193,007 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.93% of the company's stock.

FirstCash Profile

FirstCash Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates retail pawn stores in the United States, Mexico, and rest of Latin America. The company operates in three segments: U.S. Pawn, Latin America Pawn, and Retail POS Payment Solutions segments. Its pawn stores lend money on the collateral of pledged personal property, including jewelry, electronics, tools, appliances, sporting goods, and musical instruments; and retails merchandise acquired through collateral forfeitures on forfeited pawn loans and over-the-counter purchases of merchandise directly from customers.