Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Boosts Stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 166,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,236 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. makes up about 1.1% of Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $35,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of JPM. Retirement Group LLC increased its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 227.1% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Group LLC now owns 157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the second quarter worth $32,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the second quarter worth $34,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Davidson Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the first quarter valued at $37,000. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Wolfe Research cut JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $217.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $224.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.94.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock opened at $222.94 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $216.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.54. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 12 month low of $139.23 and a 12 month high of $226.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $634.30 billion, a PE ratio of 12.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.11.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.35. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 16.71%. The company had revenue of $43.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.33 EPS. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 17.52 earnings per share for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 4th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 4th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.24%. This is an increase from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.82%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Company Profile

JPMorgan Chase & Co operates as a financial services company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Consumer & Community Banking (CCB), Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB), Commercial Banking (CB), and Asset & Wealth Management (AWM). The CCB segment offers deposit, investment and lending products, cash management, and payments and services; mortgage origination and servicing activities; residential mortgages and home equity loans; and credit cards, auto loans, leases, and travel services to consumers and small businesses through bank branches, ATMs, and digital and telephone banking.