M&T Bank Corp Raises Stake in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $1,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in shares of Raymond James by 3,960.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 203 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Raymond James in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Raymond James in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Raymond James during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Raymond James during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 83.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on RJF shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Raymond James from $136.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on Raymond James from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Raymond James from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.45.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of Raymond James stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total transaction of $8,365,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 283,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,364,303. The trade was a 15.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 1,170 shares of the business’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 owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at $13,625,730.03. This represents a 1.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 54,621 shares of company stock worth $9,134,788. Company insiders own 9.74% of the company’s stock.

Raymond James Stock Up 0.1 %

Raymond James stock opened at $160.49 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $152.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.06. Raymond James has a 1-year low of $104.24 and a 1-year high of $171.38. The company has a market cap of $32.75 billion, a PE ratio of 16.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

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

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This is a boost from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.60%.

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.