Avity Investment Management Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Avity Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,403 shares during the quarter. Raymond James accounts for 1.8% of Avity Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $23,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Raymond James by 1.5% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $528,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in Raymond James by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 6,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Raymond James by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Raymond James by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 22,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on RJF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $166.00 price target (up from $151.00) on shares of Raymond James in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Raymond James from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Nine 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Raymond James

In other news, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 283,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,364,303. This represents a 15.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.43, for a total transaction of $198,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,625,730.03. This represents a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 9.74% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Stock Up 1.7 %

Raymond James stock opened at $156.89 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. Raymond James has a one year low of $104.24 and a one year high of $171.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.02.

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

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. This is a positive change from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is 20.60%.

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.