Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the thirteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $182.1667.

A number of brokerages have commented on RJF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Raymond James Financial from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $176.00 price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paul C. Reilly sold 130,687 shares of Raymond James Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.15, for a total value of $21,321,584.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 260,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,508,079.90. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Raymond James Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RJF. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $354,446,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 41.6% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,616,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $861,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,380 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Raymond James Financial by 39.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,485,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $381,212,000 after buying an additional 709,315 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Raymond James Financial by 179.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 688,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $105,581,000 after buying an additional 442,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new position in Raymond James Financial in the third quarter valued at about $69,861,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Financial Stock Down 0.6%

RJF stock opened at $157.64 on Friday. Raymond James Financial has a 1-year low of $117.57 and a 1-year high of $177.66. The stock has a market cap of $31.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.03. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.07% and a return on equity of 17.65%. The company had revenue of $3.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.93 earnings per share. Raymond James Financial’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Raymond James Financial will post 11.17 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Raymond James Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Raymond James Financial’s payout ratio is presently 21.14%.

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.