Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Lowers Stock Holdings in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 65.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,032 shares during the quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 176.7% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 121.0% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 1,142.1% during the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Price Performance

RJF stock opened at $153.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $139.29 and a 200-day moving average of $152.45. Raymond James has a 12-month low of $104.24 and a 12-month high of $174.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market cap of $31.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.02, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.02.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.02). Raymond James had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 19.71%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.31 earnings per share. Raymond James’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Raymond James will post 11.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Raymond James’s payout ratio is 19.25%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider James E. Bunn sold 3,650 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.49, for a total transaction of $498,188.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,227 shares in the company, valued at $10,677,203.23. The trade was a 4.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on RJF. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Raymond James from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Raymond James from $180.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Raymond James from $176.00 to $143.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Raymond James from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $153.82.

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.