Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Shares Sold by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,296 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $1,826,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Stifel Financial by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:SF opened at $98.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $73.51 and a 52-week high of $120.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $106.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.41. The company has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.72 and a beta of 1.08.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. As a group, analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.49%.

About Stifel Financial

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.