Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 50.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,610 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,646 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Raymond James were worth $250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 31.4% during 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 period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,974,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $976,587,000 after acquiring an additional 54,265 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,544,610 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $556,533,000 after acquiring an additional 488,245 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,351,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $531,013,000 after acquiring an additional 12,869 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,064,349 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $130,340,000 after acquiring an additional 7,121 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Raymond James from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $161.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upgraded Raymond James from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. 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, Raymond James has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $166.09.

Raymond James Stock Down 2.4 %

RJF stock traded down $3.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $151.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,668,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,355,329. The company has a market cap of $31.01 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.03. Raymond James has a 12 month low of $104.24 and a 12 month high of $174.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm's 50-day moving average is $161.30 and its 200-day moving average is $145.05.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.71% and a net margin of 14.06%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 11.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Raymond James's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.51%.

Insider Activity at Raymond James

In other news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 3,451 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.62, for a total transaction of $571,554.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 80,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,319,326.02. This represents a 4.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total value of $8,365,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 283,110 shares in the company, 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 three months, insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.