Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 12.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,387 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $2,111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of RJF. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in Raymond James by 3,960.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Raymond James in the third quarter worth $32,000. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Raymond James during the third quarter valued at $37,000. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Raymond James Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Raymond James stock opened at $160.49 on Friday. Raymond James has a twelve month low of $104.24 and a twelve month high of $171.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $152.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.06. 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 capitalization of $32.75 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.00.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.54. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 13.86%. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Raymond James will post 10.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders 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 currently 20.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on RJF. 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 research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America boosted 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Raymond James has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 283,110 shares in the company, valued at $47,364,303. The trade was a 15.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 3,451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.62, for a total transaction of $571,554.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,319,326.02. The trade was a 4.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,621 shares of company stock worth $9,134,788. 9.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Raymond James 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.