MetLife Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE:SF) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 967 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Stifel Financial worth $4,970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Stifel Financial by 1,818.8% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Stifel Financial in the third quarter worth $34,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Stifel Financial by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Stifel Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. 82.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Stifel Financial Stock Performance

NYSE SF opened at $115.80 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Stifel Financial Corp. has a twelve month low of $60.45 and a twelve month high of $119.12. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $104.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.78. The firm has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94 and a beta of 1.08.

Stifel Financial (NYSE:SF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.60 by ($0.10). Stifel Financial had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Stifel Financial Corp. will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Stifel Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Stifel Financial’s payout ratio is 30.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO David D. Sliney sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 159,619 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,544,535.42. This represents a 13.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Stifel Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Stifel Financial from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Stifel Financial from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Stifel Financial from $113.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JMP Securities boosted their price target on Stifel Financial from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Stifel Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.17.

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.