Congress Asset Management Co. Trims Position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Congress Asset Management Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 917,752 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 57,849 shares during the period. Raymond James comprises 1.0% of Congress Asset Management Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 0.45% of Raymond James worth $142,554,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Raymond James in the third quarter worth approximately $315,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Raymond James by 5.9% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,440 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Raymond James by 1.6% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 20,797 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,547,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Raymond James by 20.8% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,971 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the period. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new position in shares of Raymond James in the third quarter worth approximately $542,000. 83.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Raymond James from $168.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Raymond James from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Raymond James from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $166.09.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.43, for a total value of $198,233.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 80,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,625,730.03. This represents a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 transaction of $8,365,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 283,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,364,303. This represents a 15.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Raymond James Price Performance

RJF stock traded down $1.31 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $159.61. 1,328,330 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,321,953. Raymond James has a 52 week low of $104.24 and a 52 week high of $174.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. This is an increase from Raymond James's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Raymond James's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.51%.

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.