Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Purchases 474,443 Shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 191.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 722,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 474,443 shares during the quarter. Raymond James accounts for about 1.7% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $88,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RJF. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in 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 valued at $62,702,000 after buying an additional 474,622 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Raymond James by 17.2% in 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 during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Raymond James by 820.2% in 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 during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Raymond James by 5.9% in 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 during the period. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in Raymond James by 34.4% in the third quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 493,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,462,000 after buying an additional 126,437 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of Raymond James stock opened at $144.29 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.16. Raymond James has a 52-week low of $97.05 and a 52-week high of $151.59. The firm has a market cap of $29.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.61% and a net margin of 13.86%. Raymond James’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Raymond James will post 10.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is 18.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Raymond James

In other news, CEO Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 31,277 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total transaction of $3,429,210.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,879,063.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on RJF. JMP Securities increased their target price on Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Raymond James from $140.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Raymond James from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.91.

About Raymond James

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.