Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) Price Target to $145.00

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) had its price objective lowered by Jefferies Financial Group from $165.00 to $145.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group set a $176.00 target price on shares of Raymond James Financial and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Raymond James Financial from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Raymond James Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Raymond James Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $176.92.

Raymond James Financial Trading Up 3.8%

NYSE:RJF opened at $147.73 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Raymond James Financial has a 12-month low of $122.81 and a 12-month high of $177.66.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 17.65% and a net margin of 13.07%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Raymond James Financial will post 11.17 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. Raymond James Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.14%.

Insider Activity at Raymond James Financial

In other Raymond James Financial news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 29,551 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.34, for a total transaction of $4,206,289.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 53,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,627,431.24. The trade was a 35.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Raymond James Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $324,263,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,071,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $493,332,000 after buying an additional 474,477 shares in the last quarter. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial in the third quarter valued at $69,861,000. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $64,640,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Raymond James Financial by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,096,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $176,124,000 after buying an additional 313,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

About Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1962, the company provides a range of services to individual investors, businesses and institutions through a combination of wealth management, capital markets, investment banking, asset management, banking and trust services. Its business model centers on a network of financial advisors and broker-dealer operations that deliver personalized financial planning, investment advisory services and brokerage solutions.

The firm’s core offerings include private client wealth management delivered by independent and employee advisors, equity and fixed-income research, institutional sales and trading, and investment banking services such as mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising.