Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 52,991 Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 316.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 69,761 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 52,991 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.07% of Stifel Financial worth $7,400,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SF. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Stifel Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Stifel Financial by 46.5% in 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. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 36.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 148.1% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $113,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO David D. Sliney sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.18, for a total value of $2,904,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 159,619 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,544,535.42. This trade represents a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.57% of the company's stock.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Shares of SF stock traded up $2.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $113.87. The company had a trading volume of 746,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 541,979. The company has a market capitalization of $11.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59 and a beta of 1.11. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $110.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.75. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $68.40 and a 52-week high of $119.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.10). Stifel Financial had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on SF. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Stifel Financial from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities upped their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.14.

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.