Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 7,615 Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 23.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,303 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,615 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $3,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Stifel Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,543,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Stifel Financial by 268.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 8,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 6,411 shares during the last quarter. Capital CS Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $614,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 270.1% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 26,433 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,224,000 after acquiring an additional 19,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 69,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,507,000 after purchasing an additional 9,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Stifel Financial

In related news, COO David D. Sliney sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.18, for a total transaction 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 $18,544,535.42. This trade represents a 13.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.57% of the company's stock.

Stifel Financial Trading Down 0.4 %

Stifel Financial stock traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $115.80. 294,528 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 569,976. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $104.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.73. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $60.45 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94 and a beta of 1.08.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.10). Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Stifel Financial's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on SF. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $113.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on Stifel Financial from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com cut Stifel Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. JMP Securities raised 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $103.17.

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.