Wesleyan Assurance Society Raises Stock Holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Key Points

• Wesleyan Assurance Society increased its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1.3% in Q1, bringing its total shares to 146,579, valued at approximately $35.95 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.55% of JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s stock, highlighting strong institutional interest in the company.
• The company reported a net margin of 20.52% and earnings per share of $4.96 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Wesleyan Assurance Society raised its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM - Free Report) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 146,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,835 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. accounts for approximately 2.7% of Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Wesleyan Assurance Society's holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $35,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oakwell Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 8.1% during the first quarter. Oakwell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,996 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,716,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 17.0% during the first quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 2,418 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. PFG Advisors increased its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 24.2% during the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 41,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,212,000 after acquiring an additional 8,115 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC increased its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 8.6% during the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 10,856 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,680,000 after acquiring an additional 862 shares during the period. Finally, Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 4.3% during the first quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 39,773 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644 shares in the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on JPM shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Citigroup set a $275.00 price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $277.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. KGI Securities started coverage on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note on Sunday, April 13th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.68.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Performance

JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock traded down $3.34 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $296.29. 2,076,304 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,027,213. The stock has a market cap of $823.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.88. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 52-week low of $190.90 and a 52-week high of $301.29. The firm's 50 day moving average is $279.75 and its 200 day moving average is $260.92.

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

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In other news, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 2,821 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.71, for a total transaction of $749,567.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 68,757 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,269,422.47. The trade was a 3.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Jennifer Piepszak sold 6,128 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.47, for a total transaction of $1,608,416.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 62,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,392,563.85. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Company 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.