JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Trading Down 1.7% on Analyst Downgrade

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)’s share price traded down 1.7% during mid-day trading on Monday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $347.55 and last traded at $350.3210. 8,199,346 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 11% from the average session volume of 9,255,361 shares. The stock had previously closed at $356.23.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on JPM. UBS Group increased their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $384.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $325.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $350.00 price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $370.00 to $384.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $359.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 5,467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.73, for a total transaction of $1,808,100.91. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 40,961 shares in the company, valued at $13,547,031.53. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Robin Leopold sold 2,500 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $352.81, for a total transaction of $882,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 71,047 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,066,092.07. This represents a 3.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 10,467 shares of company stock worth $3,593,651 over the last three months. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More JPMorgan Chase & Co. News

Here are the key news stories impacting JPMorgan Chase & Co. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its quarterly common-stock dividend 10%, from $1.50 to $1.65 per share. The dividend is payable October 31 to shareholders of record October 6, representing an annualized yield of approximately 1.9%. The increase signals confidence in capital strength and gives investors more cash income. JPM Stock Rises as JPMorgan’s New Dividend Signals More Cash for Investors
• Positive Sentiment: At the Barclays Global Financial Services Conference, co-President Doug Petno said third-quarter investment-banking fees and trading revenue are expected to grow strongly. The upbeat revenue outlook helped reinforce expectations for near-term earnings momentum. JPMorgan expects investment banking, trading to shine in third quarter
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan continues to benefit from higher interest rates and a strong capital-markets environment, but commentary indicates earnings growth is moderating. Investors may therefore view the stock’s premium valuation—supported by a price-to-earnings ratio near 15—as dependent on sustained fee and trading strength. JPM Benefits from Higher Rates, but Earnings Growth Is Slowing
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded JPMorgan from “strong buy” to “hold.” The action could temper investor enthusiasm, particularly with the shares trading close to their 52-week high. Zacks

Institutional Trading of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 69,666,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,804,018,000 after purchasing an additional 4,006,293 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $11,396,496,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.6% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 21,642,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,084,339,000 after buying an additional 540,362 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.7% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 18,833,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,164,741,000 after buying an additional 134,634 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 19,019,564 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,128,484,000 after buying an additional 110,586 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trading Up 1.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $941.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50-day moving average of $352.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $323.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.59 by $0.55. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a return on equity of 18.23% and a net margin of 21.86%.The firm had revenue of $58.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $50.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 24.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be paid a $1.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 6th. This is a positive change from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.71%.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co is a global financial services company headquartered in New York City. Through its businesses, the company provides banking, lending, payments, investment banking, asset management and wealth management services to consumers, businesses, institutional clients and governments.

The company operates through four primary business areas: Consumer & Community Banking; Commercial & Investment Banking; Asset & Wealth Management; and Corporate. Its offerings include deposit accounts, credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, business banking, commercial lending, treasury services, investment banking, securities trading, investment management and private banking.

JPMorgan Chase serves customers in the United States and maintains operations and client relationships across numerous international markets.