Clearbridge Investments LLC Has $27.01 Million Stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 91.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 242,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 115,396 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.12% of Raymond James worth $27,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in RJF. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Raymond James in the 4th quarter valued at $238,830,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,832,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,335,000 after acquiring an additional 263,687 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Raymond James by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,570,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,161,981,000 after buying an additional 246,349 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Raymond James by 269.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 258,122 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,923,000 after buying an additional 188,305 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Raymond James by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,147,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $239,482,000 after buying an additional 120,427 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:RJF opened at $123.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $125.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.10. Raymond James has a 1 year low of $88.81 and a 1 year high of $131.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.15 billion. Raymond James had a return on equity of 17.94% and a net margin of 12.72%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.03 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Raymond James will post 9.53 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RJF. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Raymond James from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Raymond James from $132.00 to $131.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Raymond James from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Raymond James from $116.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.22.

Insider Activity at Raymond James

In other news, insider James E. Bunn sold 11,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.44, for a total transaction of $1,380,661.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,845,817.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider James E. Bunn sold 11,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.44, for a total transaction of $1,380,661.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,845,817.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Steven M. Raney sold 4,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.01, for a total value of $505,095.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,009 shares in the company, valued at $6,172,599.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Raymond James Company Profile

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.