Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Makes New $378,000 Investment in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 2,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $378,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Raymond James by 1.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 568,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $73,940,000 after buying an additional 9,217 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,561,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Raymond James by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 473,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,941,000 after buying an additional 7,028 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Raymond James by 109.3% during the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 111,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,778,000 after purchasing an additional 58,200 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Raymond James by 7.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 626,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $76,770,000 after acquiring an additional 43,601 shares during the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Raymond James Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of RJF opened at $167.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $160.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.02. Raymond James has a one year low of $104.24 and a one year high of $171.38.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.54. Raymond James had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. Raymond James’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 10.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total transaction of $8,365,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 283,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,364,303. This represents a 15.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.43, for a total transaction of $198,233.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at $13,625,730.03. This represents a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on RJF shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Raymond James from $169.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Raymond James has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $156.09.

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.