MetLife Investment Management LLC Buys 4,716 Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,643 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,716 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Stifel Financial worth $6,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $137,448,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Stifel Financial by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,628,832 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $915,346,000 after purchasing an additional 672,420 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 32.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,588,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $274,637,000 after buying an additional 630,255 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 477.9% in the 4th quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 238,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,347,000 after buying an additional 197,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Stifel Financial by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,207,465 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $128,088,000 after buying an additional 186,352 shares during the period. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SF shares. StockNews.com raised Stifel Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $123.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup decreased their target price on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Stifel Financial from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Stifel Financial has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.71.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SF opened at $85.82 on Wednesday. Stifel Financial Corp. has a twelve month low of $73.27 and a twelve month high of $120.64. 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 cap of $8.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75 and a beta of 1.00. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $94.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.15.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 14.00%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

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

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.

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