Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Shares Acquired by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,504,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 167,270 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 1.22% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $154,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 3.4% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 6,162 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in Jefferies Financial Group by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 14,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association increased its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 13,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $658,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 8,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on JEF. UBS Group assumed coverage on Jefferies Financial Group in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised 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 research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th.

Jefferies Financial Group Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE JEF opened at $78.40 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $74.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.93. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $38.77 and a 12 month high of $82.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $16.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50 and a beta of 1.35.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 400,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 14,971,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,081,825,270.88. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 247,326 shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total value of $16,125,655.20. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 1,632,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,424,460.40. This trade represents a 13.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,286,923 shares of company stock valued at $88,999,151. 20.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group 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.