Carson Advisory Inc. Invests $246,000 in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Carson Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of RJF. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Raymond James by 176.7% in the 4th quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its position 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in Raymond James by 1,142.1% during the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Raymond James by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in Raymond James in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Raymond James from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities cut their price target on shares of Raymond James from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $180.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Raymond James from $198.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Raymond James from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Raymond James has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.27.

Raymond James Price Performance

RJF opened at $135.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.13. The firm has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.94. Raymond James has a 1 year low of $104.24 and a 1 year high of $174.32.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Raymond James will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.51%.

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.