Guinness Asset Management LTD Lowers Stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Guinness Asset Management LTD lessened its position in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 10.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 370 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RJF. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 3,480.7% in the first quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 488,258 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,702,000 after acquiring an additional 474,622 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. raised its stake in Raymond James by 17.2% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,580,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $318,972,000 after buying an additional 378,033 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Raymond James by 820.2% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 197,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,388,000 after buying an additional 176,210 shares in the last quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Raymond James during the first quarter valued at approximately $18,548,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Raymond James by 5.9% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,468,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $316,966,000 after buying an additional 138,075 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 17,363 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $1,996,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,692,390. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 31,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total value of $3,429,210.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,879,063.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 17,363 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $1,996,745.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 75,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,692,390. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on RJF. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Raymond James from $127.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Raymond James from $137.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Raymond James from $138.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Raymond James from $138.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Raymond James currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.36.

Raymond James Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of RJF traded up $3.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $129.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,094,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,110,966. The business has a fifty day moving average of $118.82 and a 200 day moving average of $120.69. The company has a market cap of $26.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.02. Raymond James has a 1 year low of $91.67 and a 1 year high of $131.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Raymond James had a return on equity of 18.44% and a net margin of 13.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 9.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is 20.29%.

Raymond James Company 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.