National Pension Service Sells 19,035 Shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

National Pension Service lowered its stake in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 273,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,035 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $42,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $161.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America raised their price target on Raymond James from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Raymond James from $168.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup raised their price target on Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price target on Raymond James from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.09.

Insider Activity at Raymond James

In related news, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $5,212,755.36. This trade represents a 23.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 63,451 shares of company stock worth $10,531,255. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Raymond James Trading Up 1.9 %

Raymond James stock opened at $154.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Raymond James has a 52 week low of $104.24 and a 52 week high of $174.32. The company has a market capitalization of $31.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $160.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $146.55.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Raymond James will post 11.17 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. 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.