JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Shares Sold by Argent Advisors Inc.

Argent Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 28,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,092 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. accounts for 2.6% of Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $6,905,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of JPM. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC acquired a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trading Up 2.7 %

JPM opened at $248.23 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $694.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company’s 50 day moving average is $257.94 and its 200-day moving average is $239.71. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 1-year low of $179.20 and a 1-year high of $280.25.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.03 by $0.78. The firm had revenue of $42.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.90 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The company’s revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wolfe Research raised shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $269.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $257.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, JPMorgan Chase & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Robin Leopold sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.92, for a total transaction of $308,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,130,438.84. This trade represents a 2.48 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Jennifer Piepszak sold 4,273 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.85, for a total value of $1,153,069.05. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 54,469 shares in the company, valued at $14,698,459.65. The trade was a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 76,848 shares of company stock valued at $19,987,908. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of financial and investment banking services. The firm offers a range of investment banking products and services in all capital markets, including advising on corporate strategy and structure, capital raising in equity and debt markets, risk management, market making in cash securities and derivative instruments, and brokerage and research.