Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) Stock Rating Upgraded by BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

RJF has been the topic of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $180.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Monday, September 22nd. JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $151.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.10.

Raymond James Financial Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of RJF stock opened at $166.64 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $168.04 and its 200-day moving average is $153.70. The stock has a market cap of $33.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.34, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.03. Raymond James Financial has a 52-week low of $117.57 and a 52-week high of $177.66.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.38 billion. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.56% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.39 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Raymond James Financial will post 11.17 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Raymond James Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.61%.

Institutional Trading of Raymond James Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Raymond James Financial by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,244,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,089,942,000 after purchasing an additional 347,916 shares during the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 3.0% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 10,013,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,535,824,000 after acquiring an additional 295,163 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 41.6% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,616,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $861,479,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651,380 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 0.7% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,136,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $574,590,000 after acquiring an additional 29,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 19.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,901,435 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $403,038,000 after acquiring an additional 466,129 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

About Raymond James Financial

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.