National Pension Service Boosts Position in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 294,078 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,273 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Raymond James Financial were worth $47,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Raymond James Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Raymond James Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Raymond James Financial by 452.6% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in Raymond James Financial by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Raymond James Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on RJF shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 target price (up from $174.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Raymond James Financial from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Raymond James Financial from $159.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Raymond James Financial from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 29,551 shares of Raymond James Financial stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.34, for a total transaction of $4,206,289.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 53,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,627,431.24. The trade was a 35.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RJF opened at $143.30 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $149.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.94. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $138.82 and a one year high of $177.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.07. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial’s payout ratio is currently 20.42%.

Raymond James Financial Company Profile

Raymond James Financial is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1962, the company provides a range of services to individual investors, businesses and institutions through a combination of wealth management, capital markets, investment banking, asset management, banking and trust services. Its business model centers on a network of financial advisors and broker-dealer operations that deliver personalized financial planning, investment advisory services and brokerage solutions.

The firm’s core offerings include private client wealth management delivered by independent and employee advisors, equity and fixed-income research, institutional sales and trading, and investment banking services such as mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising.