Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases New Shares in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RJF. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in shares of Raymond James by 121.0% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Raymond James by 1,142.1% in the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Raymond James by 80.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Raymond James Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE RJF opened at $142.64 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.64. The firm has a market cap of $29.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.04. Raymond James has a 1 year low of $104.24 and a 1 year high of $174.32. 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 (NYSE:RJF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 19.71%. On average, research analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 11.17 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Raymond James’s payout ratio is 19.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on RJF shares. 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 research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Raymond James currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.55.

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.