Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 3,983 Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 54,259 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,983 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $5,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SF. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Stifel Financial by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 190,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,480 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 48.3% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 255,482 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,102,000 after acquiring an additional 83,211 shares in the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA lifted its position in Stifel Financial by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 3,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Stifel Financial by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 15,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,598,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:SF opened at $94.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $104.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.41. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 1-year low of $73.51 and a 1-year high of $120.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20 and a beta of 1.08.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.27. Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 16.59% and a net margin of 14.00%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 EPS for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is presently 29.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SF shares. JMP Securities raised their price objective on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.71.

Stifel Financial Company Profile

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.