New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 19,904 Shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 548,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,904 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.26% of Raymond James worth $61,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of RJF. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Raymond James by 2.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,570,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,161,981,000 after buying an additional 246,349 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 4.8% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,165,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $217,433,000 after purchasing an additional 98,664 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 2.5% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,082,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $209,155,000 after purchasing an additional 51,239 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 1.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,368,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,465,000 after purchasing an additional 15,227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 8.6% during the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 768,046 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,455,000 after purchasing an additional 60,728 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE RJF opened at $127.08 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $26.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.05. Raymond James has a 52 week low of $82.00 and a 52 week high of $131.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $122.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $112.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.25 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $3.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.01 billion. Raymond James had a return on equity of 17.95% and a net margin of 12.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Raymond James will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Art A. Garcia purchased 879 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $112.30 per share, for a total transaction of $98,711.70. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,711.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Art A. Garcia purchased 879 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $112.30 per share, for a total transaction of $98,711.70. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,711.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan N. Santelli sold 1,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.91, for a total value of $211,621.81. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 21,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,405,057.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.74% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RJF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Raymond James from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $117.00 price objective (up from $112.00) on shares of Raymond James in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $116.00 target price (down from $125.00) on shares of Raymond James in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.88.

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.