Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 112,521 Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 112,521 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,936,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.11% of Stifel Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Stifel Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 29,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,156,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Stifel Financial in the 4th quarter valued at $162,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,931 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 27,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Stifel Financial by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $715,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company's stock.

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Stifel Financial Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE SF traded up $3.96 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $102.23. The company had a trading volume of 597,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 773,314. The company has a market capitalization of $10.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 1.08. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $106.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.75. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 1-year low of $73.51 and a 1-year high of $120.64. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts predict that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share 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 represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. This is an increase from Stifel Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Stifel Financial's payout ratio is currently 29.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised Stifel Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $117.71.

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.