JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Trading 1% Higher – Still a Buy?

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) shares shot up 1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $246.54 and last traded at $246.11. 1,655,349 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 9,333,979 shares. The stock had previously closed at $243.66.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on JPM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $257.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $273.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Baird R W upgraded JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wolfe Research raised JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $269.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.06.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $256.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $241.33. The company has a market cap of $688.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.48, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.10.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last posted its quarterly 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 business 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 company’s revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 earnings per share for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is a boost from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.94, for a total transaction of $838,763.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 47,620 shares in the company, valued at $12,092,622.80. This represents a 6.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Troy L. Rohrbaugh sold 37,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.84, for a total transaction of $10,119,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 158,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,737,529.04. This trade represents a 19.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 76,848 shares of company stock valued at $19,987,908. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of JPM. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada bought a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.55% 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. It focuses on investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. It operates through the following segments: Consumer and Community Banking (CCB), Commercial and Investment Bank (CIB), Asset and Wealth Management (AWM), and Corporate.