Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at UBS Group

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) was upgraded by research analysts at UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Raymond James from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $166.00 price target (up previously from $151.00) on shares of Raymond James in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.73.

Raymond James Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of RJF opened at $159.32 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $32.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.02. Raymond James has a 1 year low of $104.24 and a 1 year high of $171.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. Raymond James had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 10.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Raymond James

In related news, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 283,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,364,303. This trade represents a 15.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $5,212,755.36. This trade represents a 23.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488. 9.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Raymond James

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Raymond James by 1.6% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Raymond James by 1.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 473,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,941,000 after buying an additional 7,028 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James during the third quarter valued at $3,561,000. XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in Raymond James by 390.7% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 8,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,032,000 after buying an additional 6,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in Raymond James by 109.3% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 111,462 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,778,000 after buying an additional 58,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

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.