Clearbridge Investments LLC Cuts Holdings in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 279,203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,717 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Raymond James Financial were worth $44,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RJF. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Raymond James Financial during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Raymond James Financial during the third quarter worth $33,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Raymond James Financial by 452.6% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in Raymond James Financial by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Raymond James Financial during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on RJF shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed 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. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $182.00 price objective (up from $174.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on Raymond James Financial from $159.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Raymond James Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.92.

Raymond James Financial Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RJF opened at $151.29 on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $138.82 and a 52 week high of $177.66. The company has a market cap of $29.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.57.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial’s payout ratio is currently 20.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Raymond James Financial

In related news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 29,551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.34, for a total value of $4,206,289.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 53,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,627,431.24. This represents a 35.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Financial 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.