Cardinal Capital Management Grows Stock Position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Cardinal Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Capital Management’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $4,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of RJF. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. TCTC Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Raymond James by 176.7% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Raymond James during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RJF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America cut Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $159.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $176.00 to $143.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $198.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $149.00 to $143.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Raymond James presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $153.82.

Raymond James Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE RJF opened at $148.39 on Tuesday. Raymond James has a 12 month low of $104.24 and a 12 month high of $174.32. The company has a market cap of $29.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $150.48.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Raymond James will post 11.17 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider James E. Bunn sold 3,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total transaction of $498,188.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 78,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,677,203.23. This represents a 4.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 6,570 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.61, for a total value of $963,227.70. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,935,053.46. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.