Bank of America Corp DE Purchases Shares of 1,770,839 Stifel Financial Corporation $SF

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 1.77 million shares of Stifel Financial in the second quarter, worth approximately $123.6 million and representing a 1.17% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 82.01% of the company.
• Stifel Financial exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $1.42 versus the $1.33 consensus and revenue of $1.45 billion, up 13% year over year.
• The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.34, equivalent to a $1.36 annualized payout and 1.8% yield. Analysts rate the stock “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus price target of $91.90.

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Stifel Financial Corporation (NYSE:SF - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,770,839 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $123,551,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 1.17% of Stifel Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SF. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the second quarter valued at about $1,031,197,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,844,635 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $231,034,000 after purchasing an additional 17,008 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 51.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,616,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $193,403,000 after purchasing an additional 890,810 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $172,446,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 972,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $121,790,000 after buying an additional 39,382 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maryam Brown sold 4,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.20, for a total value of $372,240.00. Following the sale, the director owned 5,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,736.80. This trade represents a 45.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Stifel Financial Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of SF stock opened at $75.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.57 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $80.82 and a 200-day moving average of $76.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Stifel Financial Corporation has a 1-year low of $67.81 and a 1-year high of $89.83.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 19.22% and a net margin of 16.11%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corporation will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. UBS Group set a $90.00 price target on Stifel Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Stifel Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.90.

About Stifel Financial

Stifel Financial Corp. is a diversified financial services company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its principal broker-dealer, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, the company provides wealth management, investment banking, institutional brokerage, securities research, sales and trading, and public finance services to individuals, corporations, municipalities and institutional investors.

Its wealth management business offers investment advisory, brokerage, banking and financial planning services through financial advisors and private client groups.

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