Johnson Financial Group Inc. Trims Position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Johnson Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 52.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 312 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $47,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in Raymond James by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,522,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,013,066,000 after buying an additional 137,277 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Raymond James by 12.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,544,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $556,533,000 after purchasing an additional 488,245 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Raymond James by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,392,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $680,378,000 after purchasing an additional 40,576 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,435,306 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,276,000 after purchasing an additional 192,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James during the 4th quarter valued at $294,647,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Stock Performance

Raymond James stock opened at $138.19 on Wednesday. Raymond James has a 52 week low of $104.24 and a 52 week high of $174.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $28.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $139.65 and a 200-day moving average of $151.97.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Raymond James will post 11.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.25%.

Insider Activity at Raymond James

In other Raymond James news, insider James E. Bunn sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 78,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,677,203.23. This represents a 4.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Raymond James in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Raymond James in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.64.

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.