Ancora Advisors LLC Cuts Position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. $JPM

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors reduced its JPMorgan stake by 6.7% in the second quarter, selling 18,776 shares and retaining 261,581 shares valued at approximately $85.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 71.55% of the company.
• JPMorgan reported quarterly earnings of $6.14 per share, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 27.7% year over year to $58.02 billion. The bank also increased its quarterly dividend from $1.50 to $1.65 per share, yielding about 2.0% annually.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $360.58; however, Jefferies lowered its target to $365 and kept a “Hold” rating, indicating more limited near-term upside.

Ancora Advisors LLC reduced its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM - Free Report) by 6.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 261,581 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,776 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. accounts for 1.7% of Ancora Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $85,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $11,396,496,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 15.8% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 65,660,460 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,314,681,000 after purchasing an additional 8,941,351 shares in the last quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 32,672.0% during the second quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,647,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,521,126,000 after buying an additional 4,632,891 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 31.5% during the 1st quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 6,944,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,042,648,000 after buying an additional 1,662,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 8,020,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,625,511,000 after buying an additional 1,496,676 shares during the period. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:JPM opened at $338.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $898.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The company's 50 day moving average price is $353.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $325.34. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 52 week low of $279.10 and a 52 week high of $366.50.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $6.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.59 by $0.55. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 21.86% and a return on equity of 18.23%. The company had revenue of $58.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.96 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 24.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 6th will be issued a dividend of $1.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 6th. This is an increase from JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on JPM. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $391.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $375.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $384.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $370.00 to $365.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $360.58.

More JPMorgan Chase & Co. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Cross-border payments expansion: JPMorgan Payments is partnering with Thunes to provide faster payouts to bank accounts and mobile wallets across more than 100 corridors. The initiative could expand transaction volumes and strengthen JPM’s global payments franchise. JPMorgan Payments brings faster cross-border payments to more markets
• Positive Sentiment: Asset-management growth: JPMorgan Asset Management announced a $200 million sustainable-forestry investment in Paraguay and recently secured a reported $20 billion multi-market investment partnership with Qatar Investment Authority. These developments could support fee income and reinforce JPM’s global asset-gathering platform. Paraguay sustainable forestry investment
• Positive Sentiment: Potential card expansion: JPMorgan is exploring a private-credit “second-look” model that could allow outside lenders to fund some applicants the bank declines. The approach may increase card reach and fee revenue while transferring some credit risk, though execution and regulatory considerations remain. Private credit and JPMorgan’s card business
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst view: JPMorgan strategist Grace Peters remains constructive on equities despite higher bond yields, but the comments are broad market guidance rather than a direct change to JPM’s earnings outlook. JPMorgan’s Peters favors stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Jefferies trims valuation target: Jefferies lowered its JPMorgan price target to $365 from $370 while retaining a “Hold” rating. The reduction signals limited perceived upside after the stock’s strong run and is the clearest near-term negative catalyst. Jefferies adjusts JPMorgan price target

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Robin Leopold sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $352.81, for a total transaction of $882,025.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 71,047 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,066,092.07. This trade represents a 3.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co is a global financial services company headquartered in New York City. Through its businesses, the company provides banking, lending, payments, investment banking, asset management and wealth management services to consumers, businesses, institutional clients and governments.

The company operates through four primary business areas: Consumer & Community Banking; Commercial & Investment Banking; Asset & Wealth Management; and Corporate. Its offerings include deposit accounts, credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, business banking, commercial lending, treasury services, investment banking, securities trading, investment management and private banking.

JPMorgan Chase serves customers in the United States and maintains operations and client relationships across numerous international markets.

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