Franklin Resources Inc. Acquires 9,217 Shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 568,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,217 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.28% of Raymond James worth $73,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in RJF. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in Raymond James by 3,960.0% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Raymond James in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in shares of Raymond James in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Raymond James during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on RJF shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Raymond James from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $169.00 target price (up from $152.00) on shares of Raymond James in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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, JMP Securities boosted their price objective on Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $142.45.

Raymond James Price Performance

RJF stock traded down $2.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $157.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,026,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,139,354. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Raymond James has a 12 month low of $104.24 and a 12 month high of $171.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $153.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.00.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. Raymond James had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 19.30%. Raymond James's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Raymond James will post 10.85 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Raymond James's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Raymond James's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.60%.

Insider Transactions at Raymond James

In other news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,625,730.03. The trade was a 1.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 the firm's stock in a transaction 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 represents a 15.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488. 9.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.