Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases New Position in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 8,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,289,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,071,996 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $493,332,000 after purchasing an additional 474,477 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Raymond James Financial by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,785,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $447,381,000 after buying an additional 21,856 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Raymond James Financial by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,338,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,543,000 after buying an additional 254,773 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Raymond James Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $324,263,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Raymond James Financial by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,201,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $192,987,000 after acquiring an additional 216,907 shares during the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Raymond James Financial Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE RJF opened at $162.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.93. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a one year low of $138.82 and a one year high of $177.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business’s fifty day moving average is $153.14 and its 200-day moving average is $156.13.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.76 by $0.07. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.04% and a return on equity of 17.93%. The company had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. Raymond James Financial’s payout ratio is presently 20.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $166.00 target price (up from $158.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $171.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $159.00 to $155.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Raymond James Financial presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.92.

Raymond James Financial Profile

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.