Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 927,833 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 78,741 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.91% of Stifel Financial worth $98,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 62.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 107,397 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,086,000 after purchasing an additional 41,171 shares in the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD purchased a new position in Stifel Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,759,000. Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its position in Stifel Financial by 15.7% during the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 69,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,507,000 after buying an additional 9,396 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 4,308.9% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 5,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted 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 valued at $747,107,000 after buying an additional 1,256,595 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

NYSE SF traded down $3.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $103.93. The stock had a trading volume of 822,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 728,567. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.29. 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 company has a market cap of $10.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65 and a beta of 1.11. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $72.78 and a 52-week high of $120.64.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Stifel Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Stifel Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on SF shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JMP Securities raised their price target on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $117.71.

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.