Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Stake in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,251,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,213 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.63% of Raymond James Financial worth $215,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RJF. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 30.8% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 60,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,390,000 after purchasing an additional 14,233 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Raymond James Financial by 28.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 31,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,402,000 after purchasing an additional 6,953 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Raymond James Financial by 2,000.9% in the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 4,342 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Raymond James Financial by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 59,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,195,000 after purchasing an additional 11,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in Raymond James Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $1,487,000. 83.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paul C. Reilly sold 130,687 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.15, for a total transaction of $21,321,584.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 260,546 shares in the company, valued at $42,508,079.90. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Raymond James Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley restated a “positive” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group set a $176.00 price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Raymond James Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $182.17.

Raymond James Financial Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of RJF opened at $144.64 on Friday. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $117.57 and a 52-week high of $177.66. The company has a market capitalization of $28.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.03. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.07% and a return on equity of 17.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.83 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.93 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.17 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Raymond James Financial’s payout ratio is 21.14%.

Raymond James Financial Profile

Raymond James Financial is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1962, the company provides a range of services to individual investors, businesses and institutions through a combination of wealth management, capital markets, investment banking, asset management, banking and trust services. Its business model centers on a network of financial advisors and broker-dealer operations that deliver personalized financial planning, investment advisory services and brokerage solutions.

The firm’s core offerings include private client wealth management delivered by independent and employee advisors, equity and fixed-income research, institutional sales and trading, and investment banking services such as mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising.