Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Stock Price

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) had its price target upped by Morgan Stanley from $132.00 to $145.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

RJF has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Raymond James from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JMP Securities upped their target price on Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Raymond James from $130.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.91.

Raymond James Price Performance

Shares of RJF opened at $144.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $127.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.16. Raymond James has a fifty-two week low of $97.05 and a fifty-two week high of $151.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.02.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.86%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Raymond James will post 10.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Raymond James’s payout ratio is 18.54%.

Insider Activity at Raymond James

In other Raymond James news, CEO Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 31,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $3,429,210.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,879,063.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Raymond James

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RJF. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in shares of Raymond James by 3,960.0% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Raymond James in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Raymond James by 77.0% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in Raymond James by 105.0% in the first quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 83.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.