CWA Asset Management Group LLC Decreases Stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,758 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $10,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Raymond James by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,114,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,483,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,898,242 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,974,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $976,587,000 after purchasing an additional 54,265 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Raymond James by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,544,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $556,533,000 after acquiring an additional 488,245 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Raymond James by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,351,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $531,013,000 after acquiring an additional 12,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,580,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,972,000 after buying an additional 378,033 shares in the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Raymond James Trading Up 1.5 %

Raymond James stock traded up $2.41 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $160.13. 226,945 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 544,763. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $32.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.00. Raymond James has a 12-month low of $104.24 and a 12-month high of $171.38.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.54. Raymond James had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Raymond James will post 10.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Raymond James presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.91.

Insider Transactions at Raymond James

In other news, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total transaction of $8,365,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 283,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,364,303. The trade was a 15.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total transaction of $1,594,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,212,755.36. The trade was a 23.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 64,621 shares of company stock worth $10,729,488 over the last 90 days. 9.74% of the stock is currently 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.