Sterling Financial Group Inc. Buys 242 Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Sterling Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the quarter. Sterling Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $282,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its position 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 valued at $4,070,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Grey Street Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Grey Street Capital LLC now owns 6,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,190,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Sendero Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $988,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.8% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Affinity Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.4% in the second quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,775,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In other news, insider Ashley Bacon sold 3,368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.73, for a total value of $561,546.64. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 205,461 shares in the company, valued at $34,256,512.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Jennifer Piepszak sold 1,648 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.96, for a total value of $294,926.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,873,288.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ashley Bacon sold 3,368 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.73, for a total value of $561,546.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 205,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,256,512.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 849,303 shares of company stock worth $155,107,447. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $191.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $186.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $140.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.63.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of JPM stock opened at $199.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.37. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 1 year low of $126.22 and a 1 year high of $200.48. The company has a market cap of $574.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.14.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The financial services provider reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.73 by ($0.69). JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 20.70%. The business had revenue of $38.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is an increase from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.36%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Company 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.