Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Position Boosted by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 626,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,601 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $76,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in RJF. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 9,217 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Raymond James by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 67,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,259,000 after buying an additional 1,026 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Raymond James by 7.3% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 28,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,924 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Raymond James by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 25,549 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,129,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193 shares during the period. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co lifted its stake in Raymond James by 18.7% in the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 2,788 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Raymond James news, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total transaction of $8,365,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 283,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,364,303. This trade represents a 15.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were 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 $5,212,755.36. This represents a 23.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock worth $10,729,488 over the last 90 days. 9.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RJF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $169.00 price target (up from $152.00) on shares of Raymond James in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Raymond James from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Raymond James currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.00.

Raymond James Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RJF opened at $155.05 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.64 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $155.28 and a 200-day moving average of $131.17. Raymond James has a one year low of $104.24 and a one year high of $171.38.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 13.86%. Raymond James’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Raymond James will post 10.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

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.