Scientech Research LLC Invests $754,000 in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Key Points

• Scientech Research LLC has acquired 5,430 shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. for approximately $754,000, marking their first stake purchase in the company.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Raymond James Financial, with targets ranging from $170.00 to $180.00 and an average price target of $163.80.
• The company reported second-quarter earnings of $2.18 per share, falling short of estimates, but has a revenue of $3.40 billion, showing a 5.3% year-over-year increase.

Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $754,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Raymond James Financial by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,719,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Raymond James Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $222,000. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Raymond James Financial by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 635,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $98,647,000 after purchasing an additional 39,017 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in Raymond James Financial by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 75,137 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,671,000 after purchasing an additional 9,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Raymond James Financial by 1,072.5% in the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 25,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,918,000 after purchasing an additional 23,070 shares in the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on RJF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Raymond James Financial from $151.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their target price on Raymond James Financial from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One 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 MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $163.80.

Raymond James Financial Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Raymond James Financial stock traded down $0.86 on Friday, reaching $170.22. 1,188,301 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 826,323. The company has a market capitalization of $33.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.04. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.89 and a 52 week high of $174.32. The firm's 50-day moving average is $164.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $150.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.04.

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

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

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