Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Sells 142 Shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lessened its position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 142 shares during the quarter. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of RJF. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Raymond James by 1.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 568,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,940,000 after purchasing an additional 9,217 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Raymond James in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,561,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Raymond James by 1.5% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 473,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,941,000 after buying an additional 7,028 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Raymond James by 7,238.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 45,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,045,000 after acquiring an additional 44,735 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 7.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 626,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $76,770,000 after acquiring an additional 43,601 shares during the period. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Raymond James

In other Raymond James news, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.43, for a total transaction of $198,233.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 80,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,625,730.03. This trade represents a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total transaction of $1,594,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,212,755.36. This trade represents a 23.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 64,621 shares of company stock worth $10,729,488. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Raymond James Stock Performance

Shares of RJF opened at $165.67 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $162.16 and a 200 day moving average of $141.27. The company has a market capitalization of $33.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.03. Raymond James has a 12 month low of $104.24 and a 12 month high of $174.32. 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) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.99% and a net margin of 14.06%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Raymond James will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase 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 yield of 1.21%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Raymond James from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Raymond James from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Raymond James from $170.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Raymond James from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.09.

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.