Aberdeen Group plc Decreases Holdings in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,421 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.06% of Raymond James Financial worth $17,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Raymond James Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,763,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in Raymond James Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 10,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,727,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its position in Raymond James Financial by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 3,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its position in Raymond James Financial by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Raymond James Financial news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 29,551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.34, for a total value of $4,206,289.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 53,586 shares in the company, valued at $7,627,431.24. This trade represents a 35.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Raymond James Financial Price Performance

NYSE RJF opened at $141.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $154.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.46. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 52-week low of $117.57 and a 52-week high of $177.66. The company has a market cap of $27.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.00.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.03. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.07% and a return on equity of 17.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.83 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. Raymond James Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on RJF. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $165.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Barclays started coverage on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $191.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $176.00 target price on shares of Raymond James Financial and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $179.83.

Raymond James Financial Company Profile

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.