Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. $JPM

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 36.0%, owning 151,463 shares worth approximately $43.9 million at the end of Q2.
• Multiple analysts have raised their target prices for JPMorgan Chase's stock, with Citigroup increasing theirs from $275 to $325, and Goldman Sachs raising it from $336 to $350.
• JPMorgan Chase announced a quarterly dividend increase from $1.40 to $1.50 per share, with the dividend yield now at 2.0%.

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM - Free Report) by 36.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 151,463 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 40,053 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $43,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of JPM. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 609,867.5% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 72,897,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,133,630,000 after acquiring an additional 72,885,260 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,972,807,000. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 44.4% during the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,518,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,108,415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,388,992 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $279,389,000. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt purchased a new position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $278,493,000. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

JPM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $275.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $336.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $325.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $235.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $316.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In other news, Director Linda Bammann sold 9,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.94, for a total transaction of $2,830,430.00. Following the sale, the director owned 82,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,492,753.58. This trade represents a 10.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

JPM stock opened at $301.12 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $828.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.13. The business's 50-day moving average is $301.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.98. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 1 year low of $202.16 and a 1 year high of $318.01.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.96 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $44.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.12 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 earnings per share 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 dividend of $1.50 per share. 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. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 30.79%.

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.

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