Bell Bank Grows Stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Bell Bank raised its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 359 shares during the quarter. Bell Bank’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $4,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JPM. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the third quarter worth $25,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of JPM opened at $260.25 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $258.99 and its 200 day moving average is $237.67. 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. has a 12-month low of $179.20 and a 12-month high of $280.25. The company has a market capitalization of $727.69 billion, a PE ratio of 13.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.12.

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

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research raised JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $269.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America boosted their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Baird R W lowered JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $304.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $251.78.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Robin Leopold sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.09, for a total value of $337,612.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,606,323.93. This trade represents a 2.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Troy L. Rohrbaugh sold 37,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 158,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,737,529.04. This represents a 19.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,326 shares of company stock valued at $12,448,445 over the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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.