Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 623,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,917 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $96,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Raymond James by 31.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,114,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,483,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,898,242 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Raymond James by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,974,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $976,587,000 after purchasing an additional 54,265 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Raymond James by 12.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,544,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $556,533,000 after purchasing an additional 488,245 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Raymond James by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,351,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $531,013,000 after purchasing an additional 12,869 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Raymond James by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,064,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,340,000 after purchasing an additional 7,121 shares during the period. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Raymond James Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of RJF opened at $160.80 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $161.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.56. The stock has a market cap of $32.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.03. Raymond James has a 12 month low of $104.24 and a 12 month high of $174.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.99% and a net margin of 14.06%. Equities analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 11.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Raymond James’s payout ratio is 19.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 283,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,364,303. The trade was a 15.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total value of $1,594,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,212,755.36. This trade represents a 23.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock worth $10,729,488. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RJF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised Raymond James from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Raymond James from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $161.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Raymond James from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Raymond James currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.09.

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.