Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $126.22.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on RJF shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $116.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Raymond James in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Raymond James from $132.00 to $131.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven M. Raney sold 4,174 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.01, for a total transaction of $505,095.74. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 51,009 shares in the company, valued at $6,172,599.09. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Raymond James news, Director Art A. Garcia acquired 879 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $112.30 per share, for a total transaction of $98,711.70. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 879 shares in the company, valued at $98,711.70. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Steven M. Raney sold 4,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.01, for a total transaction of $505,095.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 51,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,172,599.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Raymond James

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Raymond James by 26.0% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 165,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,668,000 after purchasing an additional 34,200 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Raymond James by 29.9% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 335,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,395,000 after purchasing an additional 77,263 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA increased its stake in shares of Raymond James by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 4,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its stake in shares of Raymond James by 13.3% in the third quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 2,718 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $273,000 after purchasing an additional 318 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Raymond James by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 17,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,955,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE RJF opened at $124.42 on Friday. Raymond James has a 12-month low of $82.00 and a 12-month high of $131.19. The company has a market cap of $26.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $123.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.15.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.32 by ($0.01). Raymond James had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 18.24%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Raymond James will post 9.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.77%.

Raymond James Company Profile

Raymond James Financial, Inc, a financial holding company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the underwriting, distribution, trading, and brokerage of equity and debt securities, and the sale of mutual funds and other investment products in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Private Client Group, Capital Markets, Asset Management, RJ Bank, and Other segments.