Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Shares Purchased by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 94.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 37,047 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Stifel Financial worth $5,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Stifel Financial by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 58,283 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,957,000 after acquiring an additional 10,500 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 118.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 81,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,808,000 after buying an additional 44,219 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 57,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,985,000 after acquiring an additional 4,405 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 165,260 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,192,000 after acquiring an additional 2,135 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Stifel Financial during the 1st quarter worth $550,000. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

SF stock traded up $0.43 on Friday, reaching $75.31. 702,705 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 472,853. The company has a market cap of $7.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60 and a beta of 1.18. Stifel Financial Corp. has a one year low of $54.81 and a one year high of $78.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.77.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.19. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 11.60%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.58 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is a boost from Stifel Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Financial's payout ratio is presently 39.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Stifel Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Stifel Financial from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $86.50 to $92.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Stifel Financial news, SVP Thomas B. Michaud sold 25,421 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $1,887,763.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 90,055 shares in the company, valued at $6,687,484.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Stifel Financial news, SVP Thomas B. Michaud sold 25,421 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $1,887,763.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 90,055 shares in the company, valued at $6,687,484.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Victor Nesi sold 36,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.37, for a total value of $2,713,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 54,732 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,125,150.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.