Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 78,741 Shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 927,833 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 78,741 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Stifel Financial were worth $98,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 62.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 107,397 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,086,000 after acquiring an additional 41,171 shares during the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD bought a new position in shares of Stifel Financial during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,759,000. Curi RMB Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 15.7% during the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 69,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,507,000 after acquiring an additional 9,396 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 4,308.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 5,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Stifel Financial by 18.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,956,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $747,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256,595 shares during the last quarter. 82.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Price Performance

Shares of SF opened at $111.38 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.85 and a beta of 1.11. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $109.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.99.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts anticipate that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Stifel Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Stifel Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 26.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $128.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their price target 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. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Stifel Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Finally, JMP Securities increased their price target on shares of Stifel Financial from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.