JPMorgan Chase & Co. $JPM Position Lessened by WestEnd Advisors LLC

Key Points

• WestEnd Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 12%, now holding 169,492 shares, which account for 1.2% of their portfolio.
• Multiple hedge funds have initiated new stakes in JPMorgan Chase & Co., while a significant increase of 212% was noted by Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc. during the same period.
• JPMorgan Chase recently reported an EPS of $5.07, exceeding expectations, and announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.50, reflecting a 2.0% dividend yield.

WestEnd Advisors LLC decreased its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM - Free Report) by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,492 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,146 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. accounts for 1.2% of WestEnd Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. WestEnd Advisors LLC's holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $49,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ryan Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 212.0% in the 2nd quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Institutional investors own 71.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on JPM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. DZ Bank reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research report on Wednesday. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Daiwa Capital Markets lifted their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $330.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $330.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $319.40.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock opened at $305.94 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $841.24 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $302.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $277.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 12 month low of $202.16 and a 12 month high of $318.01.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $5.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.83 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $46.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $44.42 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a return on equity of 17.18% and a net margin of 20.90%.JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.37 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 6th will be given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s payout ratio is 30.79%.

Insider Activity at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In other news, Director Linda Bammann sold 9,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.94, for a total value of $2,830,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 at this link. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.