JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Trading Up 0.3% – Should You Buy?

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) shares traded up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $239.22 and last traded at $239.74. 3,947,966 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 8,819,098 shares. The stock had previously closed at $239.01.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $257.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $269.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $220.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.89.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $674.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s 50 day moving average is $257.83 and its 200-day moving average is $239.11. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.78. The firm had revenue of $42.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.90 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The business’s revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 EPS 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 paid a $1.40 dividend. This is a boost from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robin Leopold sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.09, for a total transaction of $337,612.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,606,323.93. This represents a 2.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.94, for a total value of $838,763.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 47,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,092,622.80. This represents a 6.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,326 shares of company stock worth $12,448,445 over the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JPMorgan Chase & Co.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in JPM. DDD Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. DDD Partners LLC now owns 1,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Almanack Investment Partners LLC. raised its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. now owns 5,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

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.