(Bloomberg) -- Three of Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s top leaders trimmed their stakes in the investment bank for charity, relinquishing a total of 300,000 shares.
Chief Executive Officer Rich Handler, Chairman Joseph Steinberg and President Brian Friedman disposed of 100,000 shares apiece, according to regulatory filings on Wednesday, which didn’t disclose the recipients. Altogether, the stock was worth more than $17.5 million, based on the day’s closing price.
Handler said in a statement that his went to “a range of charities that I have supported consistently and historically for decades,” including the Wolf Conservation Center where his wife is board president, and the University of Rochester, his alma mater. “Like I have always done in the past, I will continue to support charities that I believe in,” he said.
Handler last sold stock in April, data compiled by Bloomberg show, when he did it to purchase a 164-foot yacht called “Night Howl.”
Handler directly owns about 15.3 million Jefferies shares after Tuesday’s transaction, and a total of 16.7 million when including indirect holdings, according to Wednesday’s filing. He’s worked at Jefferies for 34 years and received roughly 70% of his compensation in shares of the investment bank, according to a statement in April.
Jefferies closed at $58.47 in New York trading Wednesday, up 59% in the past year.
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