HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. $JPM

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,672,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 49,548 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. comprises about 0.9% of HighTower Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $861,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 3.3% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 18,908,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,964,459,000 after purchasing an additional 607,025 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 15,722,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,959,330,000 after acquiring an additional 347,033 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,655,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,622,675,000 after acquiring an additional 322,735 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.3% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,492,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,360,045,000 after acquiring an additional 168,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 19.6% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 6,615,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,086,806,000 after acquiring an additional 1,082,913 shares during the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More JPMorgan Chase & Co. News

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

• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan may spend heavily on acquisitions, which could reduce capital flexibility and pressure returns if deals are expensive or hard to integrate. Jamie Dimon says JPMorgan Chase could spend $20 billion on acquisition: ‘We are on the lookout’
• Negative Sentiment: Dimon said earnings may not stay at current levels and that costs are likely to rise, which raises concerns about margin pressure. JPMorgan Chase Stock Is Falling: What’s Happening Today?
• Neutral Sentiment: The bank also announced it will redeem $2.0 billion of Series KK preferred stock, a routine capital-management move that is not likely to change the investment thesis on its own. JPMorgan Chase to Redeem Series KK Preferred Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Dimon’s willingness to consider large acquisitions also reflects confidence in JPMorgan’s excess capital and long-term growth options, which could support the stock over time if management finds attractive targets. Jamie Dimon says JPMorgan could spend up to $20bn on a new acquisition

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on JPM shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group dropped their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $380.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $295.00 price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $361.00 price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $339.08.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Down 2.5%

JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock opened at $299.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $801.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $260.31 and a fifty-two week high of $337.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $302.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $306.96.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $5.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.50 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $50.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.30 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 20.66% and a return on equity of 17.54%. The business’s revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.07 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 22.4 earnings per share for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Insider Activity

In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, CFO Jeremy Barnum sold 5,611 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.55, for a total transaction of $1,720,052.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 35,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,870,263. The trade was a 13.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 433 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.06, for a total transaction of $127,760.98. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 64,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,155,295.20. This represents a 0.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 28,589 shares of company stock worth $8,747,496 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Profile

JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) is a diversified global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. The company provides a wide range of banking and financial products and services to consumers, small businesses, corporations, governments and institutional investors worldwide. Its operations span retail banking, commercial lending, investment banking, asset management, payments and card services, and treasury and securities services.

The firm’s principal business activities are organized across several core lines: Consumer & Community Banking, which offers deposit accounts, mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and branch and digital banking under the Chase brand; Corporate & Investment Banking, which provides capital markets, advisory, underwriting, trading and risk management services; Commercial Banking, delivering lending, treasury and capital solutions to middle-market and corporate clients; and Asset & Wealth Management, which offers investment management, private banking and retirement services to institutions and high-net-worth individuals.