Diversify Advisory Services LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 243 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Waldron Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Stifel Financial by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Stifel Financial by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 148.1% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO David D. Sliney sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.18, for a total value of $2,904,500.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 159,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,544,535.42. This trade represents a 13.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 4.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $130.00 to $128.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Stifel Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.14.

Stifel Financial Stock Down 1.0 %

SF opened at $115.04 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $110.71 and a 200 day moving average of $98.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 12 month low of $69.99 and a 12 month high of $119.12. The company has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.80 and a beta of 1.11.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.60 by ($0.10). Stifel Financial had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The company had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.54 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

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.