Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $123.88.

A number of brokerages have commented on RJF. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Raymond James in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Raymond James from $116.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Raymond James from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and issued a $117.00 price target (up previously from $112.00) on shares of Raymond James in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th.

Raymond James Stock Performance

RJF opened at $122.52 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $121.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.10. Raymond James has a 52-week low of $82.00 and a 52-week high of $131.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.05.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.01 billion. Raymond James had a return on equity of 17.95% and a net margin of 12.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Raymond James will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. Raymond James’s payout ratio is 22.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Jonathan N. Santelli sold 1,891 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.91, for a total transaction of $211,621.81. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,405,057.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Art A. Garcia bought 879 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $112.30 per share, with a total value of $98,711.70. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $98,711.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan N. Santelli sold 1,891 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.91, for a total value of $211,621.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,405,057.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Raymond James

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RJF. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Raymond James by 1.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,689,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,383,900,000 after purchasing an additional 410,025 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Raymond James by 2.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,570,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,161,981,000 after buying an additional 246,349 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Raymond James by 26.7% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,876,054 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $641,330,000 after buying an additional 1,448,047 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Raymond James by 1.9% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,018,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $373,915,000 after acquiring an additional 76,385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,278,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $243,433,000 after acquiring an additional 591,327 shares during the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.