Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Shares Sold by Center for Financial Planning Inc.

Center for Financial Planning Inc. lowered its position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 22,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,240 shares during the period. Raymond James comprises approximately 0.5% of Center for Financial Planning Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Center for Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $3,434,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Raymond James by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 772 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Raymond James by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 21,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,302,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James during the fourth quarter worth about $152,000. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Raymond James by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 2,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $369,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Raymond James by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on RJF. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $161.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group raised shares of Raymond James from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.09.

Insider Transactions at Raymond James

In other Raymond James news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 3,451 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.62, for a total transaction of $571,554.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at $13,319,326.02. This represents a 4.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total transaction of $8,365,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 283,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,364,303. This trade represents a 15.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock worth $10,729,488. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Raymond James Stock Performance

Raymond James stock opened at $159.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $143.47. Raymond James has a 1-year low of $104.24 and a 1-year high of $174.32. 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 stock has a market cap of $32.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.03.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 19.99%. On average, analysts expect that Raymond James will post 11.12 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.51%.

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.