Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its stake in Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,883,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 315,555 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Raymond James Financial worth $3,777,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 30.8% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 60,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,390,000 after purchasing an additional 14,233 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 28.6% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,402,000 after purchasing an additional 6,953 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Raymond James Financial by 2,000.9% in the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $781,000 after purchasing an additional 4,342 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its position in Raymond James Financial by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 59,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,195,000 after buying an additional 11,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in Raymond James Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,487,000. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Raymond James Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RJF opened at $157.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $165.86 and a 200-day moving average of $164.76. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $117.57 and a one year high of $177.66.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.03. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 17.65% and a net margin of 13.07%.The company had revenue of $3.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. Raymond James Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is a boost from Raymond James Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Raymond James Financial’s payout ratio is currently 21.14%.

Insider Activity at Raymond James Financial

In other news, insider Paul C. Reilly sold 130,687 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.15, for a total transaction of $21,321,584.05. Following the sale, the insider owned 260,546 shares in the company, valued at $42,508,079.90. The trade was a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RJF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Bank of America upped their target price on Raymond James Financial from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. UBS Group set a $176.00 price target on Raymond James Financial and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Raymond James Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $182.17.

About Raymond James Financial

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.