Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 9,217 Shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 568,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,217 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.28% of Raymond James worth $73,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 5.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $599,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. &PARTNERS bought a new position in Raymond James in the 2nd quarter valued at $314,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Raymond James by 4.6% in the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 224,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,753,000 after purchasing an additional 9,852 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Raymond James during the second quarter worth $69,000. Finally, Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Raymond James by 1.6% in the second quarter. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on RJF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $142.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 3,451 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.62, for a total transaction of $571,554.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,319,326.02. The trade was a 4.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total transaction of $1,594,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,688 shares in the company, valued at $5,212,755.36. This trade represents a 23.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 64,621 shares of company stock worth $10,729,488. 9.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Raymond James Price Performance

Shares of RJF opened at $160.41 on Tuesday. Raymond James has a 1 year low of $104.24 and a 1 year high of $171.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $32.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $153.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.39.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. Raymond James had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This is a positive change from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Raymond James’s payout ratio is currently 18.54%.

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.