Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Given “Neutral” Rating at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued their neutral rating on shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) in a research report report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a $166.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $151.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on RJF. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $169.00 target price (up from $152.00) on shares of Raymond James in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Raymond James presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.73.

Raymond James Trading Up 0.2 %

RJF opened at $159.32 on Tuesday. Raymond James has a 52 week low of $104.24 and a 52 week high of $171.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.90. The firm has a market cap of $32.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.02.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 13.86%. Raymond James’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Raymond James will post 10.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. This is an increase from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is 20.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 283,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,364,303. The trade was a 15.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.43, for a total value of $198,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at $13,625,730.03. This represents a 1.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488. 9.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Raymond James

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RJF. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 31.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,114,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,483,542,000 after buying an additional 2,898,242 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Raymond James by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,544,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $556,533,000 after acquiring an additional 488,245 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its stake in Raymond James by 191.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 722,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,464,000 after acquiring an additional 474,443 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its position in Raymond James by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,580,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,972,000 after acquiring an additional 378,033 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,105,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

About Raymond James

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.