Meritage Portfolio Management Purchases 866 Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Meritage Portfolio Management boosted its position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Waldron Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Stifel Financial by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Stifel Financial by 46.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 36.6% during the third 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. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Stifel Financial in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities lifted their price target on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upped 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. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $117.71.

Insider Transactions at Stifel Financial

In related news, COO David D. Sliney sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.18, for a total transaction of $2,904,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 159,619 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,544,535.42. This trade represents a 13.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.57% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

NYSE:SF opened at $113.07 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. Stifel Financial Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $72.78 and a fifty-two week high of $120.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $100.50. The company has a market capitalization of $11.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12 and a beta of 1.11.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 7.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. 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 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.92%.

Stifel Financial 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.