Wells Fargo & Company Reiterates Equal Weight Rating for Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Wells Fargo & Company reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $169.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price target of $152.00.

RJF has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America increased their price target on Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Raymond James from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. JMP Securities upped their target price on Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.45.

Raymond James Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:RJF opened at $160.37 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.00. Raymond James has a 1 year low of $104.24 and a 1 year high of $171.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $151.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $129.78.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.54. The business 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 19.30% and a net margin of 13.86%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Raymond James will post 10.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. This is a boost from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Raymond James news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.43, for a total transaction of $198,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,625,730.03. This trade represents a 1.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total value of $8,365,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 283,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,364,303. The trade was a 15.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 54,621 shares of company stock worth $9,134,788. Insiders own 9.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Raymond James

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in Raymond James by 3,960.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Raymond James in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Raymond James in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in Raymond James in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Raymond James in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.