Bank of Nova Scotia Raises Stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 588 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $3,862,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 0.4% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 22,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Raymond James during the 3rd quarter valued at $463,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 33.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 847,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,738,000 after purchasing an additional 212,697 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Raymond James by 0.9% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 13,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,676,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 1.5% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:RJF opened at $135.27 on Friday. Raymond James has a 12-month low of $104.24 and a 12-month high of $174.32. The company has a market cap of $27.72 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $146.07 and a 200 day moving average of $151.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 19.71%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Raymond James will post 11.17 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Raymond James’s payout ratio is 19.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RJF has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Raymond James from $198.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JMP Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $190.00 to $175.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Raymond James from $180.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Raymond James from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Nine equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Raymond James presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.27.

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.