Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 60,298 Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 60,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $9,366,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 176.7% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 166 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 121.0% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 232 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 1,142.1% during the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 236 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Raymond James during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider James E. Bunn sold 3,650 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total transaction of $498,188.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 78,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,677,203.23. The trade was a 4.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on RJF. Bank of America cut shares of Raymond James from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $159.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Raymond James from $176.00 to $143.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Raymond James in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Raymond James from $149.00 to $143.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Raymond James from $198.00 to $173.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $153.82.

Raymond James Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RJF traded up $0.98 during trading on Friday, reaching $153.93. The stock had a trading volume of 934,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,306,069. Raymond James has a 52 week low of $104.24 and a 52 week high of $174.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.47.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). Raymond James had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 19.71%. The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.31 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Raymond James will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Raymond James's dividend payout ratio is 19.25%.

Raymond James 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.