Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 3,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $611,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in Raymond James during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,574,000. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 3.5% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 31,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,855,000 after buying an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Raymond James by 86.1% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 44,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,435,000 after buying an additional 20,533 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Raymond James in the third quarter valued at $918,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Raymond James by 9.6% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,380 shares during the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Raymond James Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of RJF stock opened at $137.53 on Tuesday. Raymond James has a 1 year low of $104.24 and a 1 year high of $174.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $159.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.04.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts anticipate that Raymond James will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.51%.

Insider Activity at Raymond James

In other Raymond James news, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 32,688 shares in the company, valued at $5,212,755.36. This represents a 23.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on RJF. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Raymond James from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Raymond James from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.55.

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.