Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.27 Million in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 11,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,271,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of RJF. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James during the 3rd quarter valued at about $245,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Raymond James by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Raymond James during the 3rd quarter valued at about $778,000. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Raymond James by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 32,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,299,000 after acquiring an additional 10,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cavalier Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Raymond James by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cavalier Investments LLC now owns 6,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $661,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $110.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Raymond James from $112.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $116.00 target price (down from $125.00) on shares of Raymond James in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $117.00 target price (up from $112.00) on shares of Raymond James in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $123.88.

Insider Activity at Raymond James

In related news, EVP Jonathan N. Santelli sold 1,891 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.91, for a total value of $211,621.81. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,405,057.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Jonathan N. Santelli sold 1,891 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.91, for a total value of $211,621.81. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 21,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,405,057.81. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Art A. Garcia acquired 879 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $112.30 per share, for a total transaction of $98,711.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 879 shares in the company, valued at $98,711.70. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 9.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Raymond James Stock Performance

Shares of Raymond James stock opened at $125.48 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.05. Raymond James has a 12 month low of $82.00 and a 12 month high of $131.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.40 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.01 billion. Raymond James had a net margin of 12.81% and a return on equity of 17.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 9.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Raymond James’s payout ratio is 22.56%.

About Raymond James

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.