Bank of Nova Scotia Invests $2.81 Million in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 18,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,814,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in Raymond James Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 760.0% during the 1st quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in Raymond James Financial during the second quarter worth $40,000. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Raymond James Financial

In other news, insider Steven M. Raney sold 5,770 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.97, for a total transaction of $998,036.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 43,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,445,666.62. The trade was a 11.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.06, for a total transaction of $1,760,600.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 45,114 shares in the company, valued at $7,942,770.84. The trade was a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Financial Price Performance

Shares of RJF opened at $176.85 on Thursday. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $138.82 and a fifty-two week high of $182.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $169.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.93. The company has a market cap of $34.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.42, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $3.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.57% and a return on equity of 19.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.18 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 12.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on RJF shares. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $178.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Raymond James Financial from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Raymond James Financial from $172.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Raymond James Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.00.

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.