Raymond James Financial Raises Dividend

Shares of Raymond James Financial Inc. (RJF) saw a 0.3% increase in Thursday's after-hours session. This came after the regional bank made two important announcements: a 7% raise in its quarterly dividend and the initiation of a $1.5 billion stock repurchase program.

Dividend Increase

Shareholders of record on January 2nd will receive the new dividend of 45 cents per share, up from the previous 42 cents per share. The payment is scheduled for January 16th. Based on Thursday's closing stock price of $105.15, the new annual dividend rate implies a dividend yield of 1.71%.

Comparison

To provide some context, the dividend yield on the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) is currently at 3.42%, while the implied yield on the S&P 500 (SPX) stands at 1.53%.

Stock Repurchase Program

The newly announced stock repurchase program represents approximately 6.8% of Raymond James Financial's market capitalization, which is currently valued at $21.94 billion. This program replaces the previous one.

Recent Performance

Over the past three months through Thursday, Raymond James Financial's stock has shown a modest increase of 0.2%. In comparison, the regional bank ETF has experienced a slight gain of 1.7%, while the S&P 500 has risen by 1.2%.