California State Teachers Retirement System Trims Holdings in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

California State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 285,876 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,323 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $36,712,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of RJF. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Raymond James during the 4th quarter valued at about $238,830,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its position in Raymond James by 3,480.7% during the 1st quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 488,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,702,000 after purchasing an additional 474,622 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Raymond James by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,832,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,335,000 after purchasing an additional 263,687 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Raymond James by 820.2% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 197,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,388,000 after purchasing an additional 176,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Raymond James by 27.4% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 809,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,273,000 after purchasing an additional 174,286 shares during the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Raymond James Price Performance

RJF traded up $0.49 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $116.00. 1,401,040 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,132,831. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.10. Raymond James has a 12-month low of $91.67 and a 12-month high of $131.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $24.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.02.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. Raymond James had a net margin of 13.16% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The firm had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. Raymond James’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 9.56 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 1st were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 1st. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on RJF shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Raymond James from $122.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Raymond James in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Raymond James from $132.00 to $131.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $112.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.89.

Insider Activity at Raymond James

In related news, insider James E. Bunn sold 11,095 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.44, for a total value of $1,380,661.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,845,817.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 9.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.