Swedbank AB Has $1.80 Million Position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Swedbank AB boosted its position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 136.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,576 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,672 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $1,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RJF. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 1.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 568,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,940,000 after purchasing an additional 9,217 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Raymond James in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,561,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Raymond James by 1.5% during 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 buying an additional 7,028 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 7,238.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 45,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,045,000 after buying an additional 44,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Raymond James by 7.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 626,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,770,000 after acquiring an additional 43,601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:RJF opened at $168.41 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Raymond James has a 12-month low of $104.24 and a 12-month high of $174.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $162.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.32. The firm has a market cap of $34.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.43, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.02.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.99% and a net margin of 14.06%. Equities research analysts predict that Raymond James will post 11.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.51%.

Insider Activity at Raymond James

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RJF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded Raymond James from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $161.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Raymond James from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.