Clearbridge Investments LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 238,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,468 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $37,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of RJF. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Raymond James by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,623,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Raymond James by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 53,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,374,000 after buying an additional 10,172 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 5,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $875,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the period. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James in the fourth quarter worth about $890,000. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 1,995.7% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on RJF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Raymond James from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Raymond James from $166.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on Raymond James from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Raymond James has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.55.

Raymond James Price Performance

Shares of Raymond James stock opened at $137.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.96. Raymond James has a 12 month low of $104.24 and a 12 month high of $174.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.71% and a net margin of 14.06%. As a group, analysts predict that Raymond James will post 11.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Raymond James’s payout ratio is presently 19.51%.

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.