ABC Arbitrage SA Invests $1.45 Million in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new stake in Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 9,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,454,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Raymond James Financial by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,847,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,009,342,000 after buying an additional 230,871 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 4.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,597,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $448,332,000 after buying an additional 111,950 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Raymond James Financial by 10.7% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,357,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $406,941,000 after acquiring an additional 227,337 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Raymond James Financial by 2.8% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 932,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $160,968,000 after acquiring an additional 25,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Raymond James Financial by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 841,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $135,194,000 after acquiring an additional 227,781 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Raymond James Financial

In other news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 29,551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was 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 owned 53,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,627,431.24. This represents a 35.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Financial Stock Down 2.2%

Raymond James Financial stock opened at $150.90 on Tuesday. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $138.82 and a 52 week high of $177.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $29.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $149.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.08.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.07. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 17.93% and a net margin of 13.04%.The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Raymond James Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on RJF shares. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $166.00 price objective (up from $158.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $171.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $159.00 price target (up from $156.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $182.00 price objective (up from $174.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Raymond James Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Raymond James Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.25.

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.