Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Issues Earnings Results

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.31, Zacks reports. Raymond James had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 19.99%.

Raymond James Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of RJF traded down $2.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $168.16. 78,312 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,252,670. The company has a market capitalization of $34.36 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $162.29 and a 200 day moving average of $139.61. Raymond James has a 1-year low of $104.24 and a 1-year high of $174.32.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This is an increase from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on RJF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Raymond James from $166.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $161.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group raised Raymond James from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Raymond James presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Raymond James news, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total value of $8,365,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 283,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,364,303. This represents a 15.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total transaction of $1,594,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,688 shares in the company, valued at $5,212,755.36. The trade was a 23.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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.