Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Shares Acquired by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 347,404 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 58,721 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.17% of Raymond James worth $53,962,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RJF. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Raymond James by 31.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,114,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,483,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,898,242 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,974,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $976,587,000 after purchasing an additional 54,265 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Raymond James by 12.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,544,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $556,533,000 after buying an additional 488,245 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,351,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $531,013,000 after acquiring an additional 12,869 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Raymond James by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,078,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $167,472,000 after acquiring an additional 13,817 shares during the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $168.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America raised their price target on Raymond James from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Raymond James from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com cut Raymond James from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Raymond James from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $167.55.

Raymond James Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE RJF opened at $145.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.72 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $156.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.91. Raymond James has a 52 week low of $104.24 and a 52 week high of $174.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.31. Raymond James had a return on equity of 19.71% and a net margin of 14.06%. As a group, research analysts expect that Raymond James will post 11.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Raymond James Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Raymond James’s payout ratio is 19.51%.

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.