New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Stock Holdings in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 329,887 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,851 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.16% of Raymond James worth $51,241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of RJF. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 121.0% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 80.3% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $161.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Raymond James from $168.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America increased their price target on Raymond James from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, October 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Raymond James presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.09.

Insider Transactions at Raymond James

In other news, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total transaction of $1,594,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,688 shares in the company, valued at $5,212,755.36. This trade represents a 23.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 283,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,364,303. This represents a 15.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 64,621 shares of company stock worth $10,729,488 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Price Performance

RJF stock opened at $159.61 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $161.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $32.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.03. Raymond James has a 52-week low of $104.24 and a 52-week high of $174.32.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.71% and a net margin of 14.06%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Raymond James will post 11.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 was Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.51%.

Raymond James 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.