North Dakota State Investment Board Purchases Shares of 6,274 Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in RJF. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 8.2% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $573,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 41.8% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 15,580 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,164,000 after purchasing an additional 4,592 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 137.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 15.1% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $363,000. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Raymond James Financial

In related news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 29,551 shares of Raymond James Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.34, for a total value of $4,206,289.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 53,586 shares in the company, valued at $7,627,431.24. The trade was a 35.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Raymond James Financial Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Raymond James Financial stock opened at $152.13 on Thursday. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $138.82 and a 52-week high of $177.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $149.47 and a 200 day moving average of $157.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a market capitalization of $29.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.99.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.76 by $0.07. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Raymond James Financial’s payout ratio is currently 20.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on RJF. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $159.00 price objective (up from $156.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $166.00 price objective (up from $158.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Raymond James Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Raymond James Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.25.

Raymond James Financial Company 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.