Fisher Asset Management LLC Buys 76,163 Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,540,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 76,163 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $163,425,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SF. FMR LLC raised its position in Stifel Financial by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,956,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $747,107,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256,595 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Stifel Financial by 78.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,958,709 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $183,923,000 after acquiring an additional 860,465 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter worth $162,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the third quarter worth $12,290,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 316.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 69,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,400,000 after purchasing an additional 52,991 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

SF opened at $106.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 52-week low of $72.78 and a 52-week high of $120.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.31. The company has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00 and a beta of 1.11.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last issued its 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 net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 16.59%. On average, analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.