Empire Life Investments Inc. Raises Position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Empire Life Investments Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $2,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James in the 3rd quarter valued at $315,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 3,960.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 32,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,932,000 after acquiring an additional 907 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 20,797 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,547,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RJF has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Raymond James from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their price target on Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Raymond James from $168.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised shares of Raymond James from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Raymond James from $166.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.09.

Raymond James Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Raymond James stock opened at $159.63 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.62 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.03. 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 price is $161.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 19.99%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Raymond James will post 11.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. This is a positive change from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.51%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total transaction of $1,594,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,688 shares in the company, valued at $5,212,755.36. This trade represents a 23.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.43, for a total transaction of $198,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 80,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,625,730.03. This represents a 1.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488 in the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.