Venturi Wealth Management LLC Acquires 3,088 Shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Free Report) by 1,966.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,245 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,088 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Raymond James were worth $504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RJF. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Raymond James by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 29,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,537,000 after purchasing an additional 841 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Raymond James in the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Raymond James in the 4th quarter worth $511,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Raymond James by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,092 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empire Life Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Raymond James by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Empire Life Investments Inc. now owns 15,152 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,354,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Raymond James Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE RJF traded down $4.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $155.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,085,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,345,834. Raymond James has a one year low of $104.24 and a one year high of $174.32. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $161.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market cap of $31.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.03.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Raymond James's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Raymond James's payout ratio is 19.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

RJF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Raymond James from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities raised their price target on shares of Raymond James from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Raymond James from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Raymond James from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Raymond James presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $166.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Raymond James news, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total value of $1,594,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,212,755.36. The trade was a 23.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.43, for a total value of $198,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,625,730.03. This represents a 1.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Raymond James Company 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.