Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 43,601 Shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 7.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 626,866 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 43,601 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.30% of Raymond James worth $76,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in RJF. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Raymond James by 36.9% during the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,640 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 2,328 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in Raymond James by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 225,331 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,937,000 after purchasing an additional 11,427 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Raymond James by 1,138.5% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 19,036 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,445,000 after buying an additional 17,499 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its position in Raymond James by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 17,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,260,000 after buying an additional 5,427 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 37.3% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 31,287 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,018,000 after buying an additional 8,507 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.83% of the company's stock.

Raymond James Price Performance

Raymond James stock traded up $2.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $158.73. 1,218,949 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,497,748. The company has a market capitalization of $32.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $130.92 and a 200 day moving average of $123.16. Raymond James has a 1-year low of $98.72 and a 1-year high of $161.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.32 billion. Raymond James had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 19.61%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Raymond James will post 10.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Raymond James's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.54%.

Insider Activity at Raymond James

In other news, CEO Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 31,277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.64, for a total transaction of $3,429,210.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,879,063.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 9.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RJF has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $140.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. 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 research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $140.91.

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.