Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $179.29 and last traded at $178.6660, with a volume of 78857 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $175.98.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on RJF. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $172.00 to $174.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Raymond James Financial from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $162.00 to $161.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.00.

Raymond James Financial Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $160.39 and a 200-day moving average of $156.91.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.23. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 19.17% and a net margin of 13.57%.The company had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.18 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial’s payout ratio is presently 18.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Steven M. Raney sold 5,770 shares of Raymond James Financial stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.97, for a total value of $998,036.90. Following the transaction, the insider owned 43,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,445,666.62. This trade represents a 11.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.06, for a total transaction of $1,760,600.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 45,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,942,770.84. This represents a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Raymond James Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James Financial in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its stake in Raymond James Financial by 760.0% in the 1st quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Raymond James Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

About Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1962, the company provides a range of services to individual investors, businesses and institutions through a combination of wealth management, capital markets, investment banking, asset management, banking and trust services. Its business model centers on a network of financial advisors and broker-dealer operations that deliver personalized financial planning, investment advisory services and brokerage solutions.

The firm’s core offerings include private client wealth management delivered by independent and employee advisors, equity and fixed-income research, institutional sales and trading, and investment banking services such as mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising.