Raymond James Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.42 (NYSE:RJF)

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF – Get Rating) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 25th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.42 per share by the financial services provider on Monday, July 17th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 30th.

Raymond James has increased its dividend by an average of 15.8% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. Raymond James has a payout ratio of 17.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Raymond James to earn $9.79 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 17.2%.

Raymond James Price Performance

Shares of Raymond James stock traded up $2.99 on Thursday, hitting $92.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,815,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,518,540. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Raymond James has a 52-week low of $82.00 and a 52-week high of $126.00. The company has a market capitalization of $19.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $90.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.37.

Raymond James (NYSE:RJF – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.17 by ($0.14). Raymond James had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 14.01%. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.55 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Raymond James will post 8.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

RJF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price objective on Raymond James from $119.00 to $116.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Raymond James from $121.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 20th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Raymond James from $130.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Raymond James in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Raymond James has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $119.43.

Institutional Trading of Raymond James

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Raymond James by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Raymond James by 5.0% in the first quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Raymond James by 77.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Advisor Partners II LLC lifted its position in shares of Raymond James by 3.1% during the first quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 5,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBW Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Raymond James by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 33,683 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,599,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. 74.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Raymond James

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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.