KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys New Position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 67,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $10,512,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in RJF. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,466 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in Raymond James by 6.7% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 10,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,279,000 after buying an additional 658 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in Raymond James by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 64,320 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,877,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 354.5% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 14,956 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,832,000 after acquiring an additional 11,665 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Raymond James by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,064,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $130,340,000 after acquiring an additional 7,121 shares in the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on RJF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $161.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Raymond James from $166.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $168.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Raymond James from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.55.

Raymond James Trading Up 2.8 %

Raymond James stock opened at $145.03 on Tuesday. Raymond James has a one year low of $104.24 and a one year high of $174.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $156.57 and its 200 day moving average is $149.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 19.71%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Raymond James will post 11.17 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.51%.

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.