JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Trading 0.7% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) shot up 0.7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $269.05 and last traded at $268.63. 2,697,018 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 9,145,915 shares. The stock had previously closed at $266.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $257.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wolfe Research raised JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $269.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Oppenheimer cut JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, JPMorgan Chase & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $251.78.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $256.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $235.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $738.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.12.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 20.96%. The business had revenue of $42.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 earnings per share for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s payout ratio is 25.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Jennifer Piepszak sold 4,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.85, for a total value of $1,153,069.05. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 54,469 shares in the company, valued at $14,698,459.65. This trade represents a 7.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 3,303 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.94, for a total value of $838,763.82. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 47,620 shares in the company, valued at $12,092,622.80. The trade was a 6.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,326 shares of company stock valued at $12,448,445. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 17.2% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 473,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,972,000 after buying an additional 69,451 shares during the period. Alpha Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alpha Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $702,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC now owns 50,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,606,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $644,000. Finally, Plan Group Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 80.6% in the 3rd quarter. Plan Group Financial LLC now owns 1,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Company Profile

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.