Candriam S.C.A. Grows Holdings in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its position in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 29.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,767 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $3,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Raymond James by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 568,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,940,000 after purchasing an additional 9,217 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Raymond James during the 4th quarter valued at about $511,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Raymond James during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,561,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Raymond James by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 473,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,941,000 after purchasing an additional 7,028 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Raymond James by 7,238.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 45,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,045,000 after purchasing an additional 44,735 shares during the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Raymond James news, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,594,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,212,755.36. This trade represents a 23.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on RJF shares. JMP Securities increased their price objective 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Raymond James from $168.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $161.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.55.

Raymond James Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RJF opened at $143.35 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $159.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.84. Raymond James has a twelve month low of $104.24 and a twelve month high of $174.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.37 billion, a PE ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.04.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 19.71%. Equities research analysts expect that Raymond James will post 11.17 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Raymond James’s payout ratio is 19.51%.

Raymond James Company Profile

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.