Artemis Investment Management LLP Buys 118,886 Shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF)

Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,394,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 118,886 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group makes up about 1.6% of Artemis Investment Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned approximately 0.68% of Jefferies Financial Group worth $109,353,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. purchased a new position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the third quarter valued at $286,476,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 12.9% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 3,396,255 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $168,998,000 after purchasing an additional 389,385 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 782.5% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,286,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $202,312,000 after purchasing an additional 2,914,504 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Jefferies Financial Group by 7.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,504,513 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $154,153,000 after purchasing an additional 167,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,014,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $123,987,000 after buying an additional 344,409 shares during the period. 60.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jefferies Financial Group

In other news, Director Robert D. Beyer sold 46,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.07, for a total value of $2,960,034.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 100,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,431,026.25. This trade represents a 31.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Brian P. Friedman sold 247,326 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $106,424,460.40. This represents a 13.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,086,923 shares of company stock worth $76,381,151 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 20.40% of the company's stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock traded up $1.28 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $75.74. 1,636,852 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,397,993. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 52 week low of $38.77 and a 52 week high of $82.68. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $77.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.84. The company has a market cap of $15.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.42 and a beta of 1.35.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 7.97% and a net margin of 10.57%. Jefferies Financial Group's quarterly revenue was up 63.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.30 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Jefferies Financial Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. This is a boost from Jefferies Financial Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Jefferies Financial Group from $82.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Jefferies Financial Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th.

About Jefferies Financial Group

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.