Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Lowers Position in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lessened its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 27,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,200 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Raymond James Financial were worth $4,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,013,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,535,824,000 after acquiring an additional 295,163 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 41.6% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,616,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $861,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,380 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 39.9% in the second 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 stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 3.1% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $354,446,000. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RJF. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group set a $176.00 price target on Raymond James Financial and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $174.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paul C. Reilly sold 130,687 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,508,079.90. This trade represents a 33.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Financial Stock Performance

NYSE RJF opened at $172.11 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.57 and a 1-year high of $177.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $164.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.99.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.95 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $0.54 dividend. This is a boost from Raymond James Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Raymond James Financial’s payout ratio is presently 20.99%.

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.