Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Stock Price

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) had its price objective upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $143.00 to $170.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $169.00 target price (up previously from $152.00) on shares of Raymond James in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, JMP Securities upped 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.00.

Raymond James Stock Performance

NYSE:RJF opened at $155.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Raymond James has a twelve month low of $104.24 and a twelve month high of $171.38.

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. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. Raymond James’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Raymond James will post 10.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. This is a positive change from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Raymond James’s payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 3,451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.62, for a total transaction of $571,554.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at $13,319,326.02. The trade was a 4.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total value of $8,365,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 283,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,364,303. This trade represents a 15.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 64,621 shares of company stock worth $10,729,488 over the last quarter. 9.74% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Raymond James

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RJF. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised 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 worth $76,770,000 after acquiring an additional 43,601 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 1.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in Raymond James by 1.5% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 67,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,259,000 after purchasing an additional 1,026 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Raymond James by 7.3% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,464,000 after buying an additional 1,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Raymond James by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 25,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,129,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the period. 83.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.