Verition Fund Management LLC Takes Position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 4,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $519,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Raymond James by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 32,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,980,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Raymond James by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 62,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,703,000 after acquiring an additional 2,056 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in Raymond James by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 115,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,197,000 after acquiring an additional 4,473 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in Raymond James by 579.5% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 18,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after acquiring an additional 16,082 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Raymond James by 20.0% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 23,454 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,872,000 after purchasing an additional 3,915 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on RJF. Bank of America upped their price target on Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Raymond James from $140.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Raymond James from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.43, for a total transaction of $198,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 80,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,625,730.03. This trade represents a 1.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of Raymond James 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 283,110 shares in the company, valued at $47,364,303. This trade represents a 15.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 54,621 shares of company stock valued at $9,134,788 over the last three months. Company insiders own 9.74% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:RJF opened at $161.51 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $32.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $151.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.56. Raymond James has a 52-week low of $104.24 and a 52-week high of $171.38.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.54. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 13.86%. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Raymond James will post 10.83 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.60%.

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.