VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New Investment in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems acquired 99,100 shares of Raymond James Financial valued at approximately $15.2 million during the 2nd quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and T. Rowe Price, have increased their holdings in Raymond James Financial, with institutional ownership now at 83.83%.
• Raymond James Financial recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.18 EPS, which fell short of analysts' expectations, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 99,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,199,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Raymond James Financial by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,244,204 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,089,942,000 after purchasing an additional 347,916 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Raymond James Financial by 0.7% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,136,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $574,590,000 after purchasing an additional 29,086 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Raymond James Financial by 19.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,901,435 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $403,038,000 after purchasing an additional 466,129 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Raymond James Financial by 8.3% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,335,254 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $324,390,000 after purchasing an additional 178,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Raymond James Financial by 6.7% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,247,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $312,259,000 after purchasing an additional 140,704 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Raymond James Financial from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Raymond James Financial in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a "market perform" rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities upped their price target on Raymond James Financial from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $172.20.

Raymond James Financial Stock Performance

Shares of RJF opened at $161.50 on Monday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $167.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.03. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $117.57 and a 52-week high of $177.66.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.38 billion. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 18.38% and a net margin of 13.56%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Raymond James Financial's dividend payout ratio is 19.61%.

Raymond James Financial Company 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.

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