Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,195,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $181,811,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.62% of Raymond James Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 586.7% during the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,272,000 after purchasing an additional 17,407 shares in the last quarter. Algebris UK Ltd. purchased a new position in Raymond James Financial during the 4th quarter valued at about $10,179,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 392,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,058,000 after purchasing an additional 25,410 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 31.1% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 41,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,654,000 after purchasing an additional 9,838 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 40.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 24,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,971,000 after acquiring an additional 7,164 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Financial Trading Up 1.2%

RJF stock opened at $176.85 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $34.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.42, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.93. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $138.82 and a 52 week high of $182.73.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.23. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 19.07% and a net margin of 13.57%.The firm had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 12.07 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial’s payout ratio is currently 18.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RJF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a “market outperform” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group set a $184.00 price target on Raymond James Financial and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Citizens Jmp upped their target price on Raymond James Financial from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.00.

Insider Transactions at Raymond James Financial

In other news, insider Steven M. Raney sold 5,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.97, for a total transaction of $998,036.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 43,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,445,666.62. The trade was a 11.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.06, for a total transaction of $1,760,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 45,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,942,770.84. This trade represents a 18.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.