61,730 Shares in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) Acquired by Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 61,730 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,722,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 15,704 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,548 shares during the period. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $435,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 376.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 18,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 14,641 shares during the period. MKT Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Jefferies Financial Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $212,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 49.1% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 234,154 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,462,000 after acquiring an additional 77,131 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 60.88% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on JEF shares. StockNews.com lowered Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Jefferies Financial Group from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total value of $65,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,165,525. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, President Brian P. Friedman sold 55,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.30, for a total value of $2,546,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 2,591,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,979,505. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard B. Handler sold 1,500,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.50, for a total transaction of $65,250,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 15,314,150 shares in the company, valued at $666,165,525. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 0.7 %

JEF stock opened at $54.44 on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.38 and a twelve month high of $57.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $48.06 and its 200-day moving average is $44.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.19 billion, a PE ratio of 30.08 and a beta of 1.34.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.01. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 5.37% and a net margin of 7.82%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 3.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This is an increase from Jefferies Financial Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group’s payout ratio is 77.35%.

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.