Strategic Financial Services Inc. Cuts Stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Strategic Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 377 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. makes up about 0.4% of Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $6,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of JPM opened at $250.99 on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 1 year low of $179.20 and a 1 year high of $280.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $257.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $240.06. The firm has a market cap of $701.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.10.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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 firm’s revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.04 EPS. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. This is an increase from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 28.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $269.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Baird R W raised JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird raised JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $215.00 to $220.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $304.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $257.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $252.89.

Insider Activity

In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, insider Robin Leopold sold 1,250 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total value of $308,650.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,130,438.84. The trade was a 2.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Troy L. Rohrbaugh sold 37,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.84, for a total value of $10,119,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 158,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,737,529.04. This trade represents a 19.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 76,848 shares of company stock valued at $19,987,908. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

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.