Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) is Earnest Partners LLC's 6th Largest Position

Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,533,666 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,195 shares during the period. Raymond James comprises about 1.8% of Earnest Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Earnest Partners LLC owned approximately 1.24% of Raymond James worth $393,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 847,108 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $103,738,000 after buying an additional 212,697 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Raymond James in the third quarter valued at approximately $308,000. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co boosted its stake in Raymond James by 18.7% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 2,788 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $341,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Raymond James by 7.3% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,464,000 after purchasing an additional 1,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 1.5% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 67,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised Raymond James from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Raymond James from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Raymond James from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective 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 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $153.82.

Insider Activity at Raymond James

In other news, insider James E. Bunn sold 3,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total value of $498,188.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 78,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,677,203.23. This trade represents a 4.46 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Raymond James Price Performance

NYSE RJF traded up $0.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $137.74. The stock had a trading volume of 1,019,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,293,952. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.44, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Raymond James has a twelve month low of $104.24 and a twelve month high of $174.32. The firm's 50 day moving average is $139.36 and its 200 day moving average is $151.87.

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

Raymond James Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Raymond James's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.25%.

Raymond James 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.