Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 626,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,601 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of Raymond James worth $76,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 3,960.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 77.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James during the 2nd quarter valued at $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RJF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Raymond James from $140.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.91.

Insider Activity at Raymond James

In related news, CEO Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 31,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total transaction of $3,429,210.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,879,063.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 9.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Raymond James Stock Performance

Raymond James stock opened at $158.73 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $130.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.19. Raymond James has a twelve month low of $98.72 and a twelve month high of $161.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $32.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.99.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. Raymond James had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 10.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Raymond James’s payout ratio is 18.54%.

About Raymond James

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.