Simon Quick Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 1,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 1.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 568,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,940,000 after purchasing an additional 9,217 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Raymond James in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,561,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Raymond James by 1.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 473,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,941,000 after acquiring an additional 7,028 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 109.3% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 111,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,778,000 after acquiring an additional 58,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 7.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 626,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,770,000 after acquiring an additional 43,601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE RJF opened at $172.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $35.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $161.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Raymond James has a 12-month low of $104.24 and a 12-month high of $173.15.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. Raymond James had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Raymond James will post 11.02 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. This is a positive change from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on RJF shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $166.00 price target (up from $151.00) on shares of Raymond James in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $156.09.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 283,110 shares in the company, valued at $47,364,303. The trade was a 15.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,594,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,212,755.36. The trade was a 23.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.