Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) Price Target Raised to $184.00 at Morgan Stanley

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on RJF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $151.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Raymond James Financial from $155.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on Raymond James Financial from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Raymond James Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.10.

Raymond James Financial Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:RJF opened at $166.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $168.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.70. Raymond James Financial has a 52-week low of $117.57 and a 52-week high of $177.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.18 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 18.38% and a net margin of 13.56%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.39 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Raymond James Financial will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Raymond James Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Raymond James Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Raymond James Financial by 5.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 370,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,509,000 after purchasing an additional 38,442 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,250,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Raymond James Financial during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC bought a new position in Raymond James Financial during the 1st quarter worth $29,112,000. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Raymond James Financial

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.