Sapient Capital LLC Sells 195 Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Sapient Capital LLC decreased its position in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 195 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in Stifel Financial by 18.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,956,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $747,107,000 after buying an additional 1,256,595 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 78.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,958,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $183,923,000 after acquiring an additional 860,465 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $12,290,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Stifel Financial by 4.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,464,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,509,000 after purchasing an additional 65,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Stifel Financial by 316.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 69,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,400,000 after purchasing an additional 52,991 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:SF opened at $107.92 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 12 month low of $72.78 and a 12 month high of $120.64. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.41.

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

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on SF shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. began coverage on Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their target price on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Stifel Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Company 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.