Bridgewater Associates LP Has $340,000 Stock Holdings in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 70.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,204 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,612 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 52.1% in the 4th 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 boosted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Stifel Financial by 84.3% in the fourth 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. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SF stock traded up $2.76 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $85.82. 1,325,575 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 672,602. Stifel Financial Corp. has a twelve month low of $73.27 and a twelve month high of $120.64. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $94.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75 and a beta of 1.00.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Stifel Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Stifel Financial's payout ratio is 29.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Stifel Financial from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. JMP Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $135.00 to $120.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup cut their price target on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Stifel Financial from $135.00 to $106.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.71.

About Stifel Financial

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.