Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) Shares Break Above 50 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) shares crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $163.18 and traded as high as $168.83. Raymond James Financial shares last traded at $167.6680, with a volume of 1,461,333 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RJF has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $198.00 target price (up from $196.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $172.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $161.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.46.

Raymond James Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $32.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.94.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $3.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $4.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 13.50%. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.11 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st were paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial’s payout ratio is 18.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bella Allaire sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.60, for a total transaction of $1,332,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,184,873.60. This represents a 14.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Raymond James Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its stake in Raymond James Financial by 26.6% during the third quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 3,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $304,000. Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $807,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 700.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,277,000 after purchasing an additional 12,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Composition Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Composition Wealth LLC now owns 2,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Raymond James Financial Company Profile

Raymond James Financial, Inc. is a diversified financial services company that provides wealth management, investment banking, asset management and banking services. Through its financial advisors and related businesses, it serves individuals, families, businesses and institutions. The company offers financial planning, investment advisory and brokerage services, along with corporate finance, equity and fixed-income capital markets services. Its asset management business provides investment strategies and portfolio solutions, while Raymond James Bank offers banking and lending services.