Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at UBS Group

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) was upgraded by equities research analysts at UBS Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on RJF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $166.00 price target (up previously from $151.00) on shares of Raymond James in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $169.00 target price (up from $152.00) on shares of Raymond James in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Raymond James currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $152.73.

Raymond James Stock Up 0.2 %

Raymond James stock opened at $159.32 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $32.51 billion, a PE ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $159.61 and a 200 day moving average of $134.73. Raymond James has a one year low of $104.24 and a one year high of $171.38.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.54. Raymond James had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Raymond James will post 10.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Raymond James news, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total value of $8,365,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 283,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,364,303. This represents a 15.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.43, for a total transaction of $198,233.10. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 64,621 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,488 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.74% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Raymond James

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RJF. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Raymond James by 1.4% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 6,115 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Raymond James by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Raymond James by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in Raymond James by 0.4% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 22,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.83% of the company’s stock.

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.