J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Acquires 36,212 Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Key Points

• J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 62.7% in the first quarter, owning 93,952 shares valued at approximately $23 million.
• Insider activity included COO Jennifer Piepszak selling 6,128 shares and Director Linda Bammann selling 9,500 shares, representing significant decreases in their ownership of the stock.
• JPMorgan Chase reported earnings of $4.96 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a 20.52% net margin and a revenue of $44.91 billion.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM - Free Report) by 62.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 93,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 36,212 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. accounts for about 0.7% of J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $23,046,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of JPM. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada bought a new position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

JPM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Phillip Securities lowered JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $305.00 price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen raised JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. KGI Securities initiated coverage on JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note on Sunday, April 13th. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup set a $275.00 target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $288.68.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

Shares of JPM traded up $2.59 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $299.63. 8,046,594 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,322,348. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $832.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 52-week low of $190.90 and a 52-week high of $301.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $279.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.92.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM - Get Free Report) last released 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 company 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 firm earned $6.12 earnings per share. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 earnings per share for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 28.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, Director Linda Bammann sold 9,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $2,375,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 91,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,884,750. The trade was a 9.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeremy Barnum sold 40,014 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.77, for a total value of $10,034,310.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,518,123.09. This trade represents a 68.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,200 shares of company stock worth $18,060,015 in the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.