Howard Financial Services LTD. Grows Stock Position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Howard Financial Services LTD. raised its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 120 shares during the quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD.’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $1,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JPM. Trust Co of the South boosted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1.1% in the first quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 4,946 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $991,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1.1% in the first quarter. PFW Advisors LLC now owns 5,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. boosted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.0% in the first quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. now owns 2,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $568,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 11,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,872,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Curbstone Financial Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 23,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,070,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 4,415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.65, for a total transaction of $885,869.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 42,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,452,180.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO James Dimon sold 178,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.18, for a total transaction of $32,824,927.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 264,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,708,426.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 4,415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.65, for a total value of $885,869.75. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 42,124 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,452,180.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 250,565 shares of company stock valued at $46,962,717 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JPM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $203.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $196.00 to $195.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $188.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, JPMorgan Chase & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.10.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

JPM stock opened at $202.26 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market capitalization of $580.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.12. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 12-month low of $135.19 and a 12-month high of $205.88. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $196.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $186.10.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $4.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $41.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.90 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a return on equity of 17.79% and a net margin of 20.05%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 16.44 EPS for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s payout ratio is 27.78%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Profile

JPMorgan Chase & Co operates as a financial services company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Consumer & Community Banking (CCB), Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB), Commercial Banking (CB), and Asset & Wealth Management (AWM). The CCB segment offers deposit, investment and lending products, cash management, and payments and services; mortgage origination and servicing activities; residential mortgages and home equity loans; and credit cards, auto loans, leases, and travel services to consumers and small businesses through bank branches, ATMs, and digital and telephone banking.