Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Acquires Shares of 3,932 Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $611,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Raymond James in the 4th quarter valued at $105,701,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Raymond James by 1.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 568,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,940,000 after acquiring an additional 9,217 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Raymond James during the fourth quarter worth about $511,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Raymond James in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,561,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Raymond James by 1.5% in 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 period. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE RJF opened at $137.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $28.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Raymond James has a 12 month low of $104.24 and a 12 month high of $174.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $159.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.21.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Raymond James’s payout ratio is 19.51%.

Insider Activity at Raymond James

In other news, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was 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. This represents a 23.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on RJF shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Raymond James from $168.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Raymond James from $166.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Raymond James from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Raymond James currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.55.

Raymond James 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.