New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Stock Position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 207,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,561 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $32,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after acquiring an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Raymond James by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,302,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in Raymond James during the fourth quarter valued at about $152,000. Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Raymond James by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 2,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Price Performance

RJF stock opened at $159.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $161.67 and a 200 day moving average of $143.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $32.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.03. Raymond James has a 1 year low of $104.24 and a 1 year high of $174.32.

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

Raymond James Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Raymond James

In related news, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 32,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,212,755.36. The trade was a 23.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total transaction of $8,365,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 283,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,364,303. This trade represents a 15.01 % 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 three months. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on RJF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Raymond James from $166.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Raymond James from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.09.

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.