Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Boosts Holdings in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,379 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Raymond James Financial were worth $8,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $354,446,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position 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. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 39.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,485,569 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $381,212,000 after acquiring an additional 709,315 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James Financial by 179.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 688,405 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $105,581,000 after acquiring an additional 442,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 824.7% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 438,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,209,000 after purchasing an additional 390,821 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Paul C. Reilly sold 130,687 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.15, for a total transaction of $21,321,584.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 260,546 shares in the company, valued at $42,508,079.90. This represents a 33.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on RJF. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Raymond James Financial from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group set a $176.00 price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. JMP Securities increased their price target on Raymond James Financial from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Raymond James Financial from $194.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Raymond James Financial in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Raymond James Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $181.36.

Raymond James Financial Stock Down 1.4%

Raymond James Financial stock opened at $169.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.07. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.57 and a fifty-two week high of $177.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $164.39.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $3.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.64 billion. Raymond James Financial had a return on equity of 18.19% and a net margin of 13.42%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.95 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 11.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 16th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a $0.54 dividend. This is a positive change from Raymond James Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Raymond James Financial’s payout ratio is currently 20.99%.

Raymond James Financial Company Profile

Raymond James Financial is a diversified financial services firm headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. Founded in 1962, the company provides a range of services to individual investors, businesses and institutions through a combination of wealth management, capital markets, investment banking, asset management, banking and trust services. Its business model centers on a network of financial advisors and broker-dealer operations that deliver personalized financial planning, investment advisory services and brokerage solutions.

The firm’s core offerings include private client wealth management delivered by independent and employee advisors, equity and fixed-income research, institutional sales and trading, and investment banking services such as mergers and acquisitions advisory and capital raising.