Essex Financial Services Inc. Has $429,000 Holdings in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Essex Financial Services Inc. cut its stake in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 93 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Raymond James in the third quarter valued at $315,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in Raymond James by 5.9% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its holdings in Raymond James by 3,960.0% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Raymond James in the third quarter valued at $1,041,000. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management increased its holdings in Raymond James by 2.9% in the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 32,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,932,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares during the period. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Raymond James

In related news, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total value of $1,594,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,212,755.36. This trade represents a 23.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 3,451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.62, for a total transaction of $571,554.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,319,326.02. The trade was a 4.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488 in the last 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on RJF shares. JMP Securities increased their price objective on Raymond James from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $161.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Raymond James from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upgraded Raymond James from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.09.

Raymond James Price Performance

RJF stock opened at $160.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50-day moving average is $161.75 and its 200-day moving average is $143.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Raymond James has a 1 year low of $104.24 and a 1 year high of $174.32.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 19.99%. Equities research analysts expect that Raymond James will post 11.12 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This is a boost from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is 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.