Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC decreased its position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 50.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,646 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Raymond James by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 568,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $73,940,000 after buying an additional 9,217 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,561,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Raymond James by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 473,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,941,000 after purchasing an additional 7,028 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Raymond James by 7,238.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 45,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,045,000 after purchasing an additional 44,735 shares during the period. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Raymond James during the 4th quarter worth approximately $245,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $165.62, for a total transaction of $571,554.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Tashtego S. Elwyn sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total transaction of $1,594,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,688 shares in the company, valued at $5,212,755.36. The trade was a 23.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 64,621 shares of company stock worth $10,729,488 in the last ninety days. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Raymond James Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RJF opened at $159.63 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $161.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.19. Raymond James has a 12 month low of $104.24 and a 12 month high of $174.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.03.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a net margin of 14.06% and a return on equity of 19.99%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Raymond James will post 11.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change 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 of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.51%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on RJF shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen increased their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $161.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Raymond James from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Raymond James from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Nine 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $166.09.

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.