Advisors Preferred LLC Takes Position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Key Points

• Advisors Preferred LLC has recently acquired a new position in JPMorgan Chase & Co., purchasing 12,500 shares valued at approximately $3,046,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Geode Capital Management LLC and Norges Bank, have increased their stakes in JPMorgan, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced a quarterly dividend of $1.40 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.88%, reflecting a solid payout ratio of 28.73%.

Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 12,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,046,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of JPM. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 59,220,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,161,171,000 after purchasing an additional 876,417 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $8,310,884,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 33,845,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,113,147,000 after buying an additional 4,515,147 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,801,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,083,723,000 after acquiring an additional 454,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 25,861.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,556,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,778,289,000 after acquiring an additional 23,465,278 shares during the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jennifer Piepszak sold 6,129 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.76, for a total transaction of $1,536,908.04. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 68,583 shares in the company, valued at $17,197,873.08. This represents a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeremy Barnum sold 40,014 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.77, for a total transaction of $10,034,310.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,518,123.09. The trade was a 68.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,200 shares of company stock worth $18,060,015 in the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Down 0.1%

JPM opened at $298.22 on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 12 month low of $190.90 and a 12 month high of $299.59. The company has a market cap of $828.78 billion, a PE ratio of 15.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $278.35 and a 200 day moving average of $260.40.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.48 by $0.48. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a return on equity of 16.93% and a net margin of 20.52%. The firm had revenue of $44.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.12 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 EPS for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $327.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $305.00 target price for the company. Baird R W lowered JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $288.68.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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.

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