Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Shares Sold by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 52.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,091 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Raymond James were worth $677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in RJF. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 2,898,242 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 191.3% during the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 722,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $88,464,000 after buying an additional 474,443 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 17.2% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,580,467 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $318,972,000 after buying an additional 378,033 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James during the third quarter worth about $34,105,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Raymond James in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,985,000. 83.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RJF has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $125.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JMP Securities upped their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $142.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Raymond James news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 3,451 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 80,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,319,326.02. This trade represents a 4.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 283,110 shares in the company, valued at $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 quarter, insiders sold 54,621 shares of company stock worth $9,134,788. Insiders own 9.74% of the company's stock.

Raymond James Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RJF traded down $0.89 during trading on Thursday, hitting $160.62. 495,419 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,136,228. Raymond James has a 12-month low of $104.24 and a 12-month high of $171.38. The company has a market cap of $32.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $151.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $129.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.32 billion. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 13.86%. Raymond James's revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 10.83 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Raymond James's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

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.