Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Holdings in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Raymond James Financial by 2.8% in Q1, acquiring an additional 4,128 shares, bringing its total holdings to 153,556 shares valued at approximately $21.33 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Invesco Ltd. and Nuveen LLC, also raised their positions in Raymond James Financial, highlighting strong interest from the institutional sector.
• Following recent quarterly earnings, Raymond James Financial reported earnings per share of $2.18, falling short of estimates, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, indicating an annual yield of 1.2%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 153,556 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,128 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Raymond James Financial worth $21,332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of RJF. Formidable Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 7,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,318 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 994 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,862 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 6,570 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.61, for a total transaction of $963,227.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 74,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,935,053.46. The trade was a 8.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America cut shares of Raymond James Financial from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $159.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Raymond James Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $163.80.

Raymond James Financial Trading Up 2.2%

RJF traded up $3.49 during trading on Friday, hitting $165.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 169,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,306,617. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $159.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $33.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.05. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $113.91 and a twelve month high of $174.32.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.18 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Raymond James Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.61%.

Raymond James Financial Profile

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.