Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Raises Stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 32.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 480,948 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 117,049 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.24% of Raymond James worth $74,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of Raymond James by 121.0% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 232 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 1,142.1% in the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 236 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Raymond James by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Raymond James in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RJF has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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 research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Raymond James from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Raymond James from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Raymond James from $176.00 to $143.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Raymond James from $198.00 to $173.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Eleven 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $153.82.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Raymond James Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RJF traded up $4.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $141.79. 780,418 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,291,862. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business's fifty day moving average price is $139.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.92. The company has a market cap of $29.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.94. Raymond James has a 12-month low of $104.24 and a 12-month high of $174.32.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.71% and a net margin of 14.06%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. Raymond James's quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 11.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. Raymond James's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.