Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF Stock Position Reduced by Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 264,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,501 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial accounts for approximately 2.3% of Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.13% of Raymond James Financial worth $45,630,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in Raymond James Financial by 3.0% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,013,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,535,824,000 after acquiring an additional 295,163 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 41.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,616,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $861,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,380 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 39.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,485,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $381,212,000 after purchasing an additional 709,315 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,406,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $369,123,000 after purchasing an additional 71,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Raymond James Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $354,446,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on RJF shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Raymond James Financial from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group set a $176.00 target price on shares of Raymond James Financial and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Bank of America upped their price target on Raymond James Financial from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $181.36.

Raymond James Financial Stock Down 0.5%

Raymond James Financial stock opened at $171.40 on Friday. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a twelve month low of $117.57 and a twelve month high of $177.66. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $162.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.99.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.28. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 18.19% and a net margin of 13.42%.The firm had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.95 earnings per share. Raymond James Financial’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. This is a positive change from Raymond James Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Raymond James Financial’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Paul C. Reilly sold 130,687 shares of Raymond James Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.15, for a total value of $21,321,584.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 260,546 shares in the company, valued at $42,508,079.90. The trade was a 33.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Raymond James Financial

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.