Welch Group LLC Trims Holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. $JPM

Key Points

• Welch Group LLC trimmed its JPMorgan Chase stake by 1.4% in the first quarter, selling 4,035 shares and ending with 277,004 shares worth about $81.5 million.
• JPMorgan’s recent fundamentals remain solid: it reported EPS of $5.94 on revenue of $50.54 billion, both ahead of estimates, and the bank also announced a $50 billion buyback plus a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but broadly cautious-to-positive, with a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $340.88; recent commentary also pointed to strong stress-test results and continued concerns about costs and asset-quality risks.

Welch Group LLC lowered its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 277,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,035 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. accounts for approximately 3.1% of Welch Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Welch Group LLC's holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $81,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Roxbury Financial LLC grew its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,581,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Collective Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 3,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,076,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Essential Planning LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Essential Planning LLC. now owns 1,399 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Tevis Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.8% during the third quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 4,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Spinnaker Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 5,183 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.55% of the company's stock.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan’s recently announced $50 billion buyback plan and expected dividend boost reinforce its capital strength and shareholder-friendly stance, which is helping sentiment toward the stock.
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on JPMorgan to $362 from $336 while maintaining an equal-weight rating, signaling further upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: The Federal Reserve stress test results showed the largest U.S. banks, including JPMorgan, can withstand a severe downturn, which supports confidence in the bank’s balance sheet and capital return plans.
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan’s leadership reshuffle and succession planning for Jamie Dimon are drawing attention, but the move appears orderly so far and is not yet a clear positive or negative catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Some commentary highlighted JPMorgan’s continued strength as a long-term banking franchise, but these pieces were mostly opinion-driven and add limited new fundamental information.
• Negative Sentiment: Several analysts noted rising costs, interest-rate pressures, and asset-quality risks as reasons to remain cautious, which could limit how aggressively investors bid up the shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

JPM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "buy" rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a report on Monday, May 4th. Barclays reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $295.00 price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Dbs Bank raised JPMorgan Chase & Co. to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $340.00 to $328.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, JPMorgan Chase & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $340.88.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE JPM opened at $329.85 on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a twelve month low of $279.10 and a twelve month high of $343.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $311.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $308.58. The company has a market capitalization of $883.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $5.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.50 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $50.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.30 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 20.66% and a return on equity of 17.54%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.07 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 22.43 EPS for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 28.74%.

Insider Activity

In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 5,468 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.27, for a total value of $1,641,876.36. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 46,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,940,935.56. The trade was a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Jeremy Barnum sold 5,611 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.55, for a total value of $1,720,052.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,460 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,870,263. The trade was a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 33,623 shares of company stock valued at $10,427,835 in the last ninety days. 0.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Profile

JPMorgan Chase & Co NYSE: JPM is a diversified global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. The company provides a wide range of banking and financial products and services to consumers, small businesses, corporations, governments and institutional investors worldwide. Its operations span retail banking, commercial lending, investment banking, asset management, payments and card services, and treasury and securities services.

The firm's principal business activities are organized across several core lines: Consumer & Community Banking, which offers deposit accounts, mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and branch and digital banking under the Chase brand; Corporate & Investment Banking, which provides capital markets, advisory, underwriting, trading and risk management services; Commercial Banking, delivering lending, treasury and capital solutions to middle-market and corporate clients; and Asset & Wealth Management, which offers investment management, private banking and retirement services to institutions and high-net-worth individuals.

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