Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Shares Sold by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP reduced its stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 67.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 147,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 311,055 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.14% of Stifel Financial worth $15,656,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Stifel Financial by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 321 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Stifel Financial by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 84.3% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 553 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

SF stock traded down $0.01 on Friday, reaching $85.73. The company had a trading volume of 916,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 679,634. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company's fifty day moving average is $93.19 and its 200 day moving average is $103.87. The company has a market cap of $8.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 1.00. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 1 year low of $73.27 and a 1 year high of $120.64.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by ($1.12). Stifel Financial had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Stifel Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $106.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. JMP Securities decreased their price target on Stifel Financial from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a "market outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Stifel Financial from $124.00 to $84.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.50.

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.