Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Grows Position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 120.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,458 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,435 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.'s holdings in Raymond James were worth $765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Raymond James by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,228 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its stake in Raymond James by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,323 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Raymond James by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 14,651 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,276,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 1.4% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 6,115 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of Raymond James by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total value of $8,365,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 283,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $47,364,303. This trade represents a 15.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 3,451 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.62, for a total value of $571,554.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,319,326.02. The trade was a 4.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 64,621 shares of company stock worth $10,729,488. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Raymond James Price Performance

Raymond James stock traded down $0.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $167.46. The company had a trading volume of 725,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,312,078. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $162.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. Raymond James has a 1-year low of $104.24 and a 1-year high of $174.32.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 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 19.99%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Raymond James will post 11.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a boost from Raymond James's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Raymond James's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Raymond James from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $168.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Raymond James from $166.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Raymond James has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $166.09.

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.