Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF Stock: Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Raises Position

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 147,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,335 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.08% of Raymond James Financial worth $23,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Raymond James Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,180,699,000. Primecap Management Co. CA acquired a new stake in shares of Raymond James Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,405,145,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,889,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,199,424,000 after purchasing an additional 35,294 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,449,760 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,701,000 after purchasing an additional 220,227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 1.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,399,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $347,390,000 after buying an additional 41,413 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on RJF. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $172.00 to $169.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Raymond James Financial from $199.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $197.00 target price (up from $196.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $168.00 price target (down from $177.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Raymond James Financial currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.46.

Raymond James Financial Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:RJF opened at $168.03 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market cap of $32.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $162.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.09. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 12-month low of $138.82 and a 12-month high of $182.73.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The financial services provider reported $3.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.26 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $4.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.20 billion. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.50% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.11 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 14.17 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial’s payout ratio is presently 18.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bella Allaire sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.60, for a total transaction of $1,332,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 46,086 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,184,873.60. This represents a 14.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

About Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial, Inc. is a diversified financial services company that provides wealth management, investment banking, asset management and banking services. Through its financial advisors and related businesses, it serves individuals, families, businesses and institutions. The company offers financial planning, investment advisory and brokerage services, along with corporate finance, equity and fixed-income capital markets services. Its asset management business provides investment strategies and portfolio solutions, while Raymond James Bank offers banking and lending services.