CWA Asset Management Group LLC Trims Position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC cut its holdings in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 69,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,758 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $10,766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in RJF. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,114,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,483,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,898,242 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Raymond James by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,974,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $976,587,000 after purchasing an additional 54,265 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,544,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $556,533,000 after purchasing an additional 488,245 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Raymond James by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,351,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $531,013,000 after buying an additional 12,869 shares during the period. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Raymond James by 17.2% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,580,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,972,000 after acquiring an additional 378,033 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RJF traded up $2.41 during trading on Monday, hitting $160.13. 226,945 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 544,763. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.02. Raymond James has a one year low of $104.24 and a one year high of $171.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $158.98 and its 200-day moving average is $134.00.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last posted its earnings results 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. Raymond James’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Raymond James will post 10.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.43, for a total transaction of $198,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 80,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,625,730.03. The trade was a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total transaction of $1,594,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,212,755.36. This represents a 23.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock worth $10,729,488. 9.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RJF has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Raymond James from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $169.00 target price (up from $152.00) on shares of Raymond James in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $149.91.

About Raymond James

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.