Raymond James’ Paul Reilly sells shares as he heads for the exit

With the value of brokerage stocks surging to new highs, Paul C. Reilly, the outgoing chief executive of Raymond James Financial Inc. on Monday sold 50,000 shares of company stock, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, for a total of $8.37 million. 

The price per share was $167.30, just a few dollars shy of Raymond James’ shares most recent 52-week high of $171.38, which it recorded last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

The 50,000 shares Reilly sold this week accounted for close to 15% of the total he directly owned. He now directly controls 283,110 shares. As of Thursday morning, those shares are worth close to $47 million.

Reilly will be replaced in February by Paul Shoukry, the firm’s president. Reilly will remain on the board as executive chair.

With the broad market on a tear, and the S&P 500 stock index hitting another fresh high on Thursday, the share prices of many brokerage stocks have also taken off. The NYSE ARCA Broker Dealers index is up 67 percent in the past year. The index was trading near 850 on Thursday morning, or 1.2 percent less than its recent high on Nov. 25 of 859.98.

Senior executives and CEOs routinely cash in stock, which is part of their annual compensation plans. Reilly, who has been CEO of Raymond James since 2010 and succeeded Tom James, the son of the firm’s founder, had total compensation of $20.55 million in 2023, according to a fling with the SEC.

The value of Raymond James has taken off under Reilly’s leadership. Shares of Raymond James, with the ticker, RJF, traded between $16 and $18 per share to start 2010, according to cnbc.com.

Brokerage stocks were particularly hard hit during and after the credit crisis, with mainstay securities houses like Lehman Brothers collapsing into bankruptcy or others, including Merrill Lynch and Bear Stearns, being acquired and absorbed by banks.

A company spokesperson declined to comment about Reilly’s recent sale of Raymond James stock.

“Reilly’s legacy is unbelievable,” said Danny Sarch, an industry recruiter. “He took over the firm almost 15 years ago at a tumultuous time and has delivered. His track record is extraordinary. The company has reached new highs by every measure under his leadership.”

“Reilly more than deserves to cash out some of his shares,” said Lou Diamond, another industry recruiter. “He was largely the captain as the firm transformed itself from a regional broker-dealer to a national recruiting powerhouse. Raymond James under Reilly found  its stride not just as an alternative destination for advisors from the wirehouse firms but as their equivalent.”