Bard Financial Services Inc. Decreases Position in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Bard Financial Services Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 750 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $1,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 42,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,125,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 32,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,631,000 after acquiring an additional 3,430 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 5,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 499,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,844,000 after purchasing an additional 4,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 47,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,226 shares in the last quarter. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:JEF traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $82.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,062,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,388,515. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.88. The firm has a market cap of $16.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.09 and a beta of 1.35. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $38.77 and a 1-year high of $82.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Insider Activity

In other Jefferies Financial Group news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.26, for a total value of $28,904,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 14,971,288 shares in the company, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. The trade was a 2.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total transaction of $2,960,034.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 100,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,431,026.25. This represents a 31.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock worth $88,999,151 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 20.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JEF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Jefferies Financial Group in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Jefferies Financial Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th.

Jefferies Financial Group Company Profile

Jefferies Financial Group Inc operates as an investment banking and capital markets firm in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, and Asset Management. It provides investment banking, advisory services with respect to mergers or acquisitions, debt financing, restructurings or recapitalizations, and private capital advisory transactions; underwriting and placement services related to corporate debt, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, equity and equity-linked securities, and loan syndication services; and corporate lending services.