Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $36.38 Million Position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 151,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,032 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. accounts for about 0.8% of Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $36,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Disciplined Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $217,000. LGT Group Foundation increased its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. LGT Group Foundation now owns 525,801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,040,000 after buying an additional 14,300 shares during the last quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. increased its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 43,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,483,000 after buying an additional 4,375 shares during the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 7.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,450,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $938,491,000 after buying an additional 319,730 shares during the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE JPM opened at $250.99 on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 1-year low of $179.20 and a 1-year high of $280.25. The company has a market capitalization of $701.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $258.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.78. The firm had revenue of $42.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.90 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is a positive change from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on JPM shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $257.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Baird R W raised shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $304.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $252.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 3,303 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.94, for a total value of $838,763.82. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 47,620 shares in the company, valued at $12,092,622.80. This trade represents a 6.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Troy L. Rohrbaugh sold 37,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.84, for a total transaction of $10,119,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 158,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,737,529.04. The trade was a 19.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,848 shares of company stock valued at $19,987,908 over the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Company Profile

JPMorgan Chase & Co is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of financial and investment banking services. The firm offers a range of investment banking products and services in all capital markets, including advising on corporate strategy and structure, capital raising in equity and debt markets, risk management, market making in cash securities and derivative instruments, and brokerage and research.