Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Receives “Neutral” Rating from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued their neutral rating on shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) in a research note released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $166.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $151.00.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $161.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $169.00 target price (up from $152.00) on shares of Raymond James in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America raised their target price on Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.73.

Raymond James Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RJF opened at $158.83 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.41 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Raymond James has a 1-year low of $104.24 and a 1-year high of $171.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $159.40 and its 200-day moving average is $134.56.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Raymond James will post 10.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. This is a positive change from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Raymond James

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Raymond James by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 568,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,940,000 after acquiring an additional 9,217 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Raymond James by 1.5% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 473,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,941,000 after purchasing an additional 7,028 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Raymond James in the third quarter valued at about $3,561,000. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in Raymond James by 390.7% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 8,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after buying an additional 6,649 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in Raymond James by 109.3% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 111,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,778,000 after buying an additional 58,200 shares during the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.