Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Shares Purchased by Empire Life Investments Inc.

Empire Life Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $2,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Raymond James by 1.5% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its position in Raymond James by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC lifted its position in Raymond James by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 14,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,276,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in Raymond James by 1.4% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 6,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Raymond James by 3.9% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Raymond James stock opened at $159.63 on Friday. Raymond James has a 52-week low of $104.24 and a 52-week high of $174.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.47. The firm has a market cap of $32.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.03.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 19.99%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Raymond James will post 11.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities boosted their price target on shares of Raymond James from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $161.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $166.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Nine equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Raymond James presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Raymond James

In other Raymond James news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 3,451 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.62, for a total value of $571,554.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 80,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,319,326.02. This represents a 4.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total transaction of $8,365,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 283,110 shares in the company, valued at $47,364,303. This trade represents a 15.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.