JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Shares Up 0.6% - Still a Buy?

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)'s stock price rose 0.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $265.36 and last traded at $264.57. Approximately 1,737,775 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 10,863,208 shares. The stock had previously closed at $263.01.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on JPM shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $285.00 to $284.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $277.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com raised JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.26.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Down 0.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $741.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.07. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $239.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.62.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $5.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.63 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $45.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.62 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.44 EPS. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th were paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 27.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, CEO Troy L. Rohrbaugh sold 37,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.84, for a total value of $10,119,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 158,381 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,737,529.04. The trade was a 19.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Robin Leopold sold 1,250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.09, for a total value of $337,612.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,377 shares in the company, valued at $13,606,323.93. This trade represents a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 129,188 shares of company stock valued at $33,095,363. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the first quarter worth $28,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. University of Illinois Foundation acquired a new position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Curat Global LLC purchased a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.55% of the company's stock.

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.