JPMorgan Chase & Co. $JPM Shares Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 151,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,053 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $43,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JPM. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ryan Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc grew its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 212.0% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and issued a $259.00 target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Bank of America lifted their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $336.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $330.00 to $354.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lifted their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $316.00.

Insider Transactions at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In related news, Director Linda Bammann sold 9,500 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.94, for a total transaction of $2,830,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 82,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,492,753.58. The trade was a 10.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of JPM stock opened at $301.12 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $301.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $276.98. The stock has a market cap of $828.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.13. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 1 year low of $202.16 and a 1 year high of $318.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.48 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $44.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $43.76 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a return on equity of 16.93% and a net margin of 20.52%.JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.12 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, October 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 30.79%.

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.