Fifth Third Bancorp reduced its stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF – Get Rating) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,677 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 230 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $1,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advanced Research Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Stifel Financial during the third quarter worth about $57,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Stifel Financial by 175.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,129 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Stifel Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 72.5% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in Stifel Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $149,000. Institutional investors own 83.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Stifel Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 29th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Monday, March 13th.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

Shares of SF stock opened at $56.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.82. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52 week low of $49.31 and a 52 week high of $70.26. The company's 50 day moving average price is $62.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.66. The company has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 1.25.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 15.84% and a net margin of 15.08%. The firm's revenue was down 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.23 EPS.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 1st were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 28th. Stifel Financial's payout ratio is 27.07%.

Insider Transactions at Stifel Financial

In other news, insider James M. Zemlyak bought 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 24th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $56.05 per share, with a total value of $1,121,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,250,652 shares in the company, valued at $70,099,044.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Ronald J. Kruszewski bought 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $55.00 per share, for a total transaction of $137,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 1,377,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,752,930. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider James M. Zemlyak purchased 20,000 shares of Stifel Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 24th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $56.05 per share, with a total value of $1,121,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,250,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $70,099,044.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 32,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,848,500 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.30% of the company's stock.

About Stifel Financial

(Get Rating)

Stifel Financial Corp. provides securities brokerage, investment banking, trading, investment advisory, and related financial services. It operates through the following segments: Global Wealth Management, Institutional Group, and Other. The Global Wealth Management segment provides securities transaction, brokerage, and investment services to clients.

Recommended Stories

• Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Stifel Financial (SF)
• MarketBeat Week in Review – 4/3 – 4/7
• Costco Sales Disappoint, Markets Are Missing This Upside Driver
• First Republic Bank Is A Speculative Play, Here's Why
• The WD-40 Company Bottoms With Reversal In Sight
• 3 Low-Cost Stock ETFs That Are Crushing It This Year

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF – Get Rating).

Receive News & Ratings for Stifel Financial Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Stifel Financial and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.