Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 134,459 Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Upbound Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:UPBD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 134,459 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,922,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.25% of Upbound Group as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Upbound Group by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 80,938 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,361,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Upbound Group by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 3,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 26,498 shares of the company's stock valued at $773,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Upbound Group by 45.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,271 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Upbound Group by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 13,798 shares of the company's stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period. 90.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Upbound Group

In related news, CFO Fahmi Karam acquired 11,500 shares of Upbound Group stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.82 per share, with a total value of $296,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 164,672 shares in the company, valued at $4,251,831.04. This trade represents a 7.51 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey J. Brown purchased 1,694 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $19.89 per share, for a total transaction of $33,693.66. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 88,074 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,751,791.86. This trade represents a 1.96 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Loop Capital lowered their price objective on shares of Upbound Group from $33.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upbound Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Upbound Group Stock Down 3.2 %

UPBD traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $19.90. 826,599 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 498,733. The stock has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 1.90. Upbound Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.69 and a 1-year high of $38.72. The stock's 50-day moving average is $23.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.08.

Upbound Group (NASDAQ:UPBD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.06 billion. Upbound Group had a return on equity of 35.47% and a net margin of 2.86%. Sell-side analysts predict that Upbound Group, Inc. will post 4.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Upbound Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd were issued a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.84%. Upbound Group's payout ratio is 70.59%.

About Upbound Group

Upbound Group, Inc leases household durable goods to customers on a lease-to-own basis in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. It operates through four segments: Rent-A-Center, Acima, Mexico, and Franchising. The company's brands, such as Rent-A-Center and Acima that facilitate consumer transactions across a range of store-based and virtual channels.