Norges Bank Invests $238.83 Million in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,141,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $238,830,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.02% of Raymond James as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in RJF. Steph & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 1,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $119,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 32.9% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 3.2% during the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 3,855 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 3.3% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on RJF. StockNews.com lowered Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Bank of America cut their target price on Raymond James from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Citigroup increased their target price on Raymond James from $112.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Raymond James from $132.00 to $131.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Raymond James from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $126.22.

Raymond James Stock Performance

RJF opened at $124.79 on Wednesday. Raymond James has a 12-month low of $88.81 and a 12-month high of $131.19. The stock has a market cap of $25.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day moving average of $125.00 and a 200-day moving average of $116.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by ($0.01). Raymond James had a net margin of 12.72% and a return on equity of 17.94%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Raymond James will post 9.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Raymond James’s payout ratio is 21.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Steven M. Raney sold 4,174 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.01, for a total transaction of $505,095.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,172,599.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Steven M. Raney sold 4,174 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.01, for a total transaction of $505,095.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 51,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,172,599.09. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider James E. Bunn sold 11,095 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.44, for a total value of $1,380,661.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,845,817.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.74% of the stock is currently owned by 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.