Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC)

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of HSBC Holdings plc (NYSE:HSBC) by 49.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,985 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in HSBC were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HSBC. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of HSBC by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 79,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,725,000 after buying an additional 10,252 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in HSBC by 55.1% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 16,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 5,861 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of HSBC by 204.5% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 48,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,653,000 after purchasing an additional 32,446 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC increased its position in shares of HSBC by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 8,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in HSBC by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,676,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,385,000 after buying an additional 208,393 shares during the period. 1.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of HSBC in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. BNP Paribas lowered shares of HSBC from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $811.00.

HSBC Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of HSBC opened at $40.52 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.11, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $39.28 and a 200 day moving average of $39.06. HSBC Holdings plc has a 1-year low of $34.89 and a 1-year high of $42.47.

HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.33). The firm had revenue of $13.02 billion during the quarter. HSBC had a net margin of 19.02% and a return on equity of 12.89%. On average, research analysts expect that HSBC Holdings plc will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

HSBC Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th will be paid a dividend of $1.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 15.30%. This is a positive change from HSBC’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. HSBC’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 108.42%.

HSBC Profile

HSBC Holdings plc provides banking and financial services worldwide. The company operates through Wealth and Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, and Global Banking and Markets segments. The Wealth and Personal Banking segment offers retail banking and wealth products, including current and savings accounts, mortgages and personal loans, credit and debit cards, and local and international payment services; and wealth management services comprising insurance and investment products, global asset management services, investment management, and private wealth solutions.