Atria Investments Inc, a well-known institutional investor, has increased its holdings in Raymond James by 13.4%, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The financial services provider’s stock raised the eyebrows of the institutional investor, who bought an additional 2,603 shares during the fourth quarter of last year. As a result, Atria Investments owned as many as 22,083 shares of this stock, worth $2,360,000 as per the latest filing records.
Furthermore, they declared a quarterly dividend payment recently that was paid on April 17th to shareholders of record on April 3rd. Shareholders were granted a dividend of $0.42 per share while the ex-dividend date was on March 31st. These dividends add up to an annualized basis of $1.68 and show a yield of about 1.75%. Though Raymond James’s dividends payout ratio is currently at 23.40%.
Various analysts have offered their insights into this matter as well. StockNews.com started covering Raymond James’s stocks and called it a ‘hold’ rating in March last year. Credit Suisse Group also weighed in on this topic and reduced their target price from $119 to $116 while setting it as a “neutral” rating on this stock earlier this year in January. Similarly, UBS Group was not very optimistic about the future outlook for Raymond James either despite also setting it as a “neutral” rating; they too decreased their target price down to $125 from $127 back in January.
On the other hand, some analysts still seem hopeful about where Raymond James might be headed next despite seemingly not being quite there yet based solely off those factors cited above followed by their valuations for it diverging greatly compared with current prices across Wall Street’s board over recent weeks – this indicates bullish sentiment amongst buyers looking at putting capital towards this investment. These include such names as The Goldman Sachs Group, who decreased the target price from $148 to $125 at the beginning of 2021 despite setting it with a “buy” rating, and Citigroup analysts set a fairly neutral rating regarding predicting its potential upside; however, they put the stock under coverage again I’m April this year stating that Raymond James’s shares were worth-price point-ing out for their investors.
Thus taking into account these assessments made by industry experts specialist chime in on this stock to be sold or hold which could potentially influence other investors’ decisions as well but keep in mind that public opinion can have fluctuations like share price movements too so doing further research is always advisable for a more accurate reflection of what might happen moving forward.
Institutional Investors Show Confidence in Raymond James Financial Inc. (NYSE:RJF) Despite Insider Selling Activity
Raymond James Financial Inc. (NYSE:RJF) is a diversified financial services company that provides wealth management, investment banking, asset management and other related services through its subsidiaries. The company has recently been the subject of attention from hedge funds and institutional investors who have made changes to their positions in the company.
During the fourth quarter of 2016, RFP Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Raymond James worth approximately $35,000. Covestor Ltd also raised its position by 77.1% during the first quarter of this year, purchasing an additional 138 shares which brought their total holdings to 317 shares valued at $35,000. Dupont Capital Management Corp and Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. also acquired new positions in the fourth and third quarters respectively while Alta Advisers Ltd followed suit in the third quarter.
What’s interesting about these moves is that it shows a high degree of confidence by institutional investors and hedge funds in Raymond James as an investment opportunity. Currently, 74.77% of RJF’s stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
But it’s not just institutional investors buying into Raymond James; insiders are selling too. Recently, insider Jodi Perry sold 6,343 shares of RJF’s stock for a total transaction value of $712,318.90. This amounts to roughly 9.46% of the company’s stock being held by insiders.
Despite this selling activity by insiders, RJA announced on April 17th that it would pay out a quarterly dividend to shareholders who were listed as having ownership on April 3rd. Shareholders received $0.42 per share with an ex-dividend date of March 31st; calculated annually, this amount represents a yield of around 1.75%.
The most recent opening price for RJF on May 16th was $95.87 per share; this figure has varied over the last year, with a twelve month low of $84.86 and a high of $126. The business’s fifty-day and two-hundred-day moving averages are $99.87 and $107.80 respectively.
Raymond James last released its quarterly earnings on January 25th this year, exceeding analysts’ expectations with earnings per share (EPS) of $2.29 – a beating of consensus estimates by one cent. The financial services provider also reported revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, which was just below analysts’ predictions of around $2.83 billion.
The company’s net margin stands at 13.65% while its return on equity is currently 17.78%. Sell-side analysts predict Raymond James will post EPS figures of 9.3 for the current fiscal year.
In conclusion, it seems that investors – institutional and individual – remain mixed in their estimation of Raymond James as an investment prospect; reports indicate increased buying activity from hedge funds and institutional investors but insiders appear to be cashing out on certain positions within RJF’s stock market activity.. Ultimately time will tell where RJF is headed and what the company’s future direction might be, based on factors like these since events can shift with some rapidity in the tumultuous world domain occupied by US finance industry titans like RJF .
