Blue Trust Inc. Has $840,000 Stock Holdings in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,407 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $840,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 1.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 568,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,940,000 after acquiring an additional 9,217 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in Raymond James during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,561,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 473,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,941,000 after acquiring an additional 7,028 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 7,238.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 45,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,045,000 after purchasing an additional 44,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in shares of Raymond James by 109.3% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 111,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,778,000 after buying an additional 58,200 shares during the period. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Raymond James Stock Up 0.4 %

RJF stock opened at $172.13 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $162.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.40. Raymond James has a 12 month low of $104.24 and a 12 month high of $174.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.02.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 19.30%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Raymond James will post 11.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. This is a positive change from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Transactions at Raymond James

In related news, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 32,688 shares in the company, valued at $5,212,755.36. This represents a 23.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.43, for a total value of $198,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at $13,625,730.03. The trade was a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock worth $10,729,488. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on RJF shares. UBS Group raised Raymond James from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $166.00 price target (up from $151.00) on shares of Raymond James in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Raymond James from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Raymond James has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.09.

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.