Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Shares Sold by Pitcairn Co.

Pitcairn Co. lessened its stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,832 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 9,968 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $936,000 after purchasing an additional 2,210 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $356,000. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $385,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 37,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,539,000 after acquiring an additional 6,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Stifel Financial by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,122,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,188,000 after purchasing an additional 31,101 shares during the period. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Trading Down 8.4 %

NYSE:SF opened at $78.82 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.63 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $103.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $73.51 and a 52 week high of $120.64.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. On average, research analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on SF. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.86.

Stifel Financial Profile

Stifel Financial Corp., a financial services and bank holding company, provides retail and institutional wealth management, and investment banking services to individual investors, corporations, municipalities, and institutions in the United States and internationally. It operates in three segments: Global Wealth Management, Institutional Group, and Other.