Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $171.91 and last traded at $172.00, with a volume of 65509 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $170.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on RJF. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JMP Securities upped their price target on Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $166.00 target price (up previously from $151.00) on shares of Raymond James in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.09.

Raymond James Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.02.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 13.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Raymond James will post 11.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. This is an increase from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.60%.

Insider Activity at Raymond James

In related news, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total value of $1,594,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,212,755.36. The trade was a 23.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.43, for a total value of $198,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 80,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,625,730.03. This trade represents a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock worth $10,729,488. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Raymond James

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Raymond James by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 13,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Raymond James by 6.8% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 31,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,918,000 after purchasing an additional 2,007 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Raymond James by 1.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 265,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,889,000 after acquiring an additional 3,339 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in Raymond James by 59.8% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 38,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,701,000 after purchasing an additional 14,231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Raymond James by 91.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 168,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,609,000 after purchasing an additional 80,782 shares in the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Raymond James

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.