Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Has $765,000 Stock Holdings in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lifted its stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 120.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,435 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 31.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,114,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,483,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,898,242 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Raymond James by 12.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,544,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $556,533,000 after buying an additional 488,245 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its position in Raymond James by 191.3% during the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 722,393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $88,464,000 after acquiring an additional 474,443 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in Raymond James in the third quarter valued at $34,105,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Raymond James in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,985,000. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Trading Up 0.6 %

RJF stock opened at $165.67 on Thursday. Raymond James has a 52 week low of $104.24 and a 52 week high of $174.32. The company has a market capitalization of $33.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $162.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 19.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Raymond James will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This is a boost from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Raymond James’s payout ratio is currently 19.51%.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Raymond James from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised Raymond James from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Raymond James has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.