Guinness Asset Management LTD Acquires 1,170 Shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF)

Guinness Asset Management LTD grew its holdings in shares of Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) by 36.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Raymond James were worth $686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Raymond James by 1.5% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position 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 worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Raymond James by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in Raymond James by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 22,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 83.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Raymond James Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RJF opened at $167.00 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $160.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.13 billion, a PE ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.02. Raymond James has a twelve month low of $104.24 and a twelve month high of $171.38.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.32 billion. Raymond James had a net margin of 13.86% and a return on equity of 19.30%. The company’s revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Raymond James will post 10.99 EPS for the current year.

Raymond James Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.50 dividend. This is a boost from Raymond James’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Raymond James’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.60%.

Insider Transactions at Raymond James

In related news, CEO Paul C. Reilly sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.30, for a total value of $8,365,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 283,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,364,303. This represents a 15.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bella Loykhter Allaire sold 3,451 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.62, for a total value of $571,554.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 80,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,319,326.02. This represents a 4.11 % 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 valued at $10,729,488 over the last quarter. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Raymond James from $169.00 to $168.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Raymond James from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Raymond James from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Raymond James from $128.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Raymond James from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $161.00 to $185.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Raymond James presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.09.

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.