Invesco Ltd. Buys 186,352 Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,207,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 186,352 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $128,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SF. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 528 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of Stifel Financial by 84.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.01% of the company’s stock.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SF opened at $82.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $98.41 and its 200-day moving average is $104.61. Stifel Financial Corp. has a 12-month low of $73.27 and a 12-month high of $120.64.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 29.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Stifel Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $135.00 to $106.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Stifel Financial from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.71.

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.