Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 630.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 206,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 178,259 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Raymond James were worth $32,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 31.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,114,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,483,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,898,242 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,974,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $976,587,000 after acquiring an additional 54,265 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 488,245 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,351,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $531,013,000 after acquiring an additional 12,869 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,078,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $167,472,000 after acquiring an additional 13,817 shares during the period. 83.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RJF has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised shares of Raymond James from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $168.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Raymond James presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $167.55.

Raymond James Price Performance

Shares of RJF opened at $141.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $29.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.04. Raymond James has a twelve month low of $104.24 and a twelve month high of $174.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $157.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.14.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, analysts predict that Raymond James will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio 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.