Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $181.00.

RJF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citizens Jmp lifted their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price (up from $160.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group set a $184.00 price target on Raymond James Financial and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Argus boosted their price target on Raymond James Financial from $178.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th.

Raymond James Financial Stock Down 0.6%

RJF stock opened at $179.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a 50-day moving average of $161.84 and a 200-day moving average of $157.02. Raymond James Financial has a fifty-two week low of $138.82 and a fifty-two week high of $182.73.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.23. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.57% and a return on equity of 19.17%. The business had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Raymond James Financial will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insider Transactions at Raymond James Financial

In other news, insider Steven M. Raney sold 5,770 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.97, for a total value of $998,036.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 43,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,445,666.62. This trade represents a 11.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of Raymond James Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.06, for a total value of $1,760,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 45,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,942,770.84. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Raymond James Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in 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 valued at $493,332,000 after buying an additional 474,477 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,785,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,381,000 after buying an additional 21,856 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 9.9% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,449,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $354,701,000 after acquiring an additional 220,227 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 1.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,399,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,390,000 after acquiring an additional 41,413 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Raymond James Financial by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,338,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,543,000 after acquiring an additional 254,773 shares during the period. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Raymond James Financial Company Profile

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.