Financial Counselors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Financial Counselors Inc. reduced its holdings in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,024 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $1,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Morey & Quinn Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Raymond James during the fourth quarter worth approximately $372,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 3,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Raymond James by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 347,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,962,000 after buying an additional 58,721 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Raymond James in the fourth quarter worth $276,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Raymond James by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 97,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,175,000 after buying an additional 10,906 shares during the period. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on RJF shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Raymond James from $168.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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. UBS Group upgraded Raymond James from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $167.55.

Raymond James Stock Performance

RJF stock opened at $142.74 on Friday. Raymond James has a 1-year low of $104.24 and a 1-year high of $174.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $155.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $150.03. The company has a market capitalization of $29.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.93, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 19.71%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 11.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.51%.

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.