JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Position Reduced by Biondo Investment Advisors LLC

Biondo Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,659 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. makes up about 2.9% of Biondo Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $21,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allstate Corp boosted its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 3,259.6% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 84,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,286,000 after purchasing an additional 82,110 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 111,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,816,000 after acquiring an additional 6,553 shares in the last quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. RiverFront Investment Group LLC now owns 153,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,798,000 after purchasing an additional 9,597 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC increased its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 1,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS raised its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 1,008,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $241,728,000 after purchasing an additional 115,406 shares during the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

Shares of JPM opened at $246.10 on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a twelve month low of $179.20 and a twelve month high of $280.25. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $688.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $256.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.36.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The company had revenue of $42.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This is an increase from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 28.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America decreased their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $285.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $304.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $273.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $257.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Troy L. Rohrbaugh sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.02, for a total transaction of $6,175,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 133,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,947,774.62. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jennifer Piepszak sold 4,272 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.03, for a total transaction of $1,055,312.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 50,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,400,164.91. This trade represents a 7.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,848 shares of company stock worth $19,987,908 in the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is 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.