Clarus Wealth Advisors Trims Holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. $JPM

Clarus Wealth Advisors reduced its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 119 shares during the period. Clarus Wealth Advisors’ holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. University of Illinois Foundation purchased a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $72,000. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Linda Bammann sold 9,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 82,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,492,753.58. This trade represents a 10.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on JPM shares. Hsbc Global Res lowered JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Zacks Research lowered JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 8th. Finally, Phillip Securities lowered JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, JPMorgan Chase & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.78.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

Shares of JPM opened at $309.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $850.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.13. 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. has a one year low of $202.16 and a one year high of $310.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $294.81 and its 200-day moving average is $268.04.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.48 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $44.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.76 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a return on equity of 16.93% and a net margin of 20.52%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 EPS for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, October 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is an increase from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.73%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Profile

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.