V Square Quantitative Management LLC Cuts Stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 123 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in Raymond James by 3,960.0% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd grew its stake in Raymond James by 121.0% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Raymond James in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Raymond James in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Raymond James by 80.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Price Performance

RJF opened at $159.63 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $161.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Raymond James has a 12-month low of $104.24 and a 12-month high of $174.32. The firm has a market cap of $32.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.03.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that Raymond James will post 11.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This is a boost from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is 19.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RJF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Raymond James from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Raymond James presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.09.

Insider Activity at Raymond James

In other Raymond James news, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total transaction of $8,365,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 283,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,364,303. This trade represents a 15.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total value of $1,594,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,212,755.36. This represents a 23.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488 in the last three months. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.