Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in Raymond James Financial, Inc. $RJF

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Raymond James Financial, Inc. (NYSE:RJF) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 17,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,599,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RJF. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Raymond James Financial by 1.5% during the second quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 4,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $625,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Collective Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Raymond James Financial by 3.0% in the second quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 2,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Raymond James Financial by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Raymond James Financial by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Raymond James Financial by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,469 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RJF has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price (up from $160.00) on shares of Raymond James Financial in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Raymond James Financial from $172.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on shares of Raymond James Financial from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group set a $184.00 price target on Raymond James Financial and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Raymond James Financial from $178.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.00.

Raymond James Financial Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:RJF opened at $179.50 on Friday. Raymond James Financial, Inc. has a 12 month low of $138.82 and a 12 month high of $182.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.92. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.11.

Raymond James Financial (NYSE:RJF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $3.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.87 billion. Raymond James Financial had a net margin of 13.57% and a return on equity of 19.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.18 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Raymond James Financial, Inc. will post 12.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 18.83%.

Insider Activity at Raymond James Financial

In other news, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.06, for a total transaction of $1,760,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 45,114 shares in the company, valued at $7,942,770.84. The trade was a 18.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven M. Raney sold 5,770 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.97, for a total value of $998,036.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 43,046 shares in the company, valued at $7,445,666.62. The trade was a 11.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Raymond James Financial 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.