T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Reduces Position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF - Free Report) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 917,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 155,212 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.90% of Stifel Financial worth $97,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SF. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew 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 buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $106.00 to $102.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Stifel Financial from $123.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Stifel Financial from $124.00 to $84.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.50.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

NYSE:SF traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $85.73. 916,923 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 680,655. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $8.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $93.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.98. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 1 year low of $73.27 and a 1 year high of $120.64.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.61 by ($1.12). The company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.32 billion. Stifel Financial had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Stifel Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Stifel Financial's payout ratio is currently 35.18%.

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.