Empowered Funds LLC Has $593,000 Position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $593,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Raymond James by 1.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 568,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,940,000 after acquiring an additional 9,217 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Raymond James in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,561,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 473,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,941,000 after purchasing an additional 7,028 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 7,238.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 45,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,045,000 after purchasing an additional 44,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Raymond James in the fourth quarter valued at about $245,000. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Raymond James Price Performance

Shares of RJF stock opened at $160.80 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $161.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.56. The stock has a market cap of $32.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.03. Raymond James has a 52-week low of $104.24 and a 52-week high of $174.32. 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 (NYSE:RJF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.99% and a net margin of 14.06%. As a group, analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 11.12 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. This is an increase from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Raymond James news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 3,451 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 283,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,364,303. The trade was a 15.01 % 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 90 days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on RJF. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Raymond James from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Raymond James currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.09.

Raymond James 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.