Select Equity Group L.P. Buys New Stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 525,404 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $81,611,000. Select Equity Group L.P. owned 0.26% of Raymond James as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Raymond James by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Raymond James by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 412,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,007,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Raymond James by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 365,961 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,845,000 after acquiring an additional 119,637 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Raymond James by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 64,557 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,028,000 after buying an additional 1,717 shares during the period. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,427,000. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Raymond James Price Performance

Shares of NYSE RJF traded down $1.25 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $152.56. The company had a trading volume of 761,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,303,723. The company has a market cap of $30.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.02. Raymond James has a 52 week low of $104.24 and a 52 week high of $174.32. The business's 50-day moving average is $139.53 and its 200 day moving average is $152.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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

Raymond James Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Raymond James's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Raymond James news, insider James E. Bunn sold 3,650 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 78,227 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,677,203.23. The trade was a 4.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on RJF shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Raymond James from $180.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Raymond James in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Raymond James from $176.00 to $143.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Raymond James from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Raymond James from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $153.82.

About Raymond James

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.