Cardinal Capital Management Lowers Stock Holdings in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Cardinal Capital Management lessened its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) by 12.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,180 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Capital Management’s holdings in Raymond James Financial were worth $4,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in RJF. Abacus Planning Group Inc. purchased a new position in Raymond James Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 173.0% in the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 31,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,846,000 after acquiring an additional 20,022 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 4.8% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,807,000 after acquiring an additional 2,026 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 45.5% in the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 37,631 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,227,000 after acquiring an additional 11,771 shares during the period. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at $622,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Financial Stock Performance

Raymond James Financial stock opened at $168.29 on Friday. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 52 week low of $117.57 and a 52 week high of $177.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market cap of $33.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $161.14 and a 200-day moving average of $163.17.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.64 billion. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.42% and a return on equity of 18.19%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.95 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Raymond James Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. Raymond James Financial’s payout ratio is 20.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RJF. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Thursday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Raymond James Financial from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Raymond James Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $180.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Raymond James Financial news, insider Paul C. Reilly sold 130,687 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.15, for a total transaction of $21,321,584.05. Following the sale, the insider owned 260,546 shares in the company, valued at $42,508,079.90. This represents a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Raymond James Financial 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.