Mechanics Financial Corp Decreases Stock Position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Mechanics Financial Corp reduced its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 58 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. makes up about 2.6% of Mechanics Financial Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Mechanics Financial Corp’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $5,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $136,000. Intrust Bank NA lifted its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 43,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,339,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp boosted its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 3,259.6% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 84,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,286,000 after purchasing an additional 82,110 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 111,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,816,000 after buying an additional 6,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RiverFront Investment Group LLC raised its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 153,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,798,000 after buying an additional 9,597 shares during the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In other news, 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 value of $10,119,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Robin Leopold sold 1,250 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total transaction of $308,650.00. Following the sale, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,848 shares of company stock valued at $19,987,908 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JPM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Baird R W raised shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $304.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $257.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Ten equities 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.com, JPMorgan Chase & Co. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.06.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock opened at $246.10 on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 12-month low of $179.20 and a 12-month high of $280.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $256.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $241.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $688.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47, a price-to-earnings-growth 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, topping the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.78. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The business had revenue of $42.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 EPS for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. This is a boost from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 28.37%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Company Profile

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.