KBC Group NV Sells 58,262 Shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

KBC Group NV lowered its stake in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 14.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 354,689 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 58,262 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $55,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Raymond James by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,114,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,483,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,898,242 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,974,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $976,587,000 after purchasing an additional 54,265 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Raymond James by 12.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,544,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $556,533,000 after purchasing an additional 488,245 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Raymond James by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,351,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $531,013,000 after purchasing an additional 12,869 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Raymond James by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,064,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,340,000 after purchasing an additional 7,121 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Raymond James news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.43, for a total transaction of $198,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,625,730.03. This represents a 1.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 283,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,364,303. The trade was a 15.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 64,621 shares of company stock worth $10,729,488. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on RJF shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Raymond James from $143.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities lifted their target price on Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Raymond James from $169.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Nine equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $156.09.

Raymond James Stock Down 2.0 %

NYSE:RJF opened at $169.26 on Tuesday. 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 has a market capitalization of $34.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.02. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.81. Raymond James has a fifty-two week low of $104.24 and a fifty-two week high of $173.15.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This is an increase 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 1.18%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

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.