JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Stock Price Up 0.6% – Still a Buy?

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) was up 0.6% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $270.64 and last traded at $269.52. Approximately 1,453,885 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 9,789,552 shares. The stock had previously closed at $267.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on JPM shares. Oppenheimer lowered shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird downgraded JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Baird R W cut shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $211.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $251.78.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Up 0.8 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $248.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $229.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $760.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 17.82 earnings per share for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.33%.

Insider Activity at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In related news, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.94, for a total transaction of $838,763.82. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in JPM. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 58,344,186 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,258,346,000 after purchasing an additional 505,830 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 17,401,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,171,298,000 after purchasing an additional 617,164 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 15,084,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,180,806,000 after purchasing an additional 302,592 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 7.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,073,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,338,955,000 after buying an additional 1,016,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,888,088,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.