Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 27,264 Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 39.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 27,264 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $22,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 7.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,450,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $938,491,000 after acquiring an additional 319,730 shares during the period. Sageworth Trust Co raised its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 37.9% during the third quarter. Sageworth Trust Co now owns 2,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.5% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 118,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,902,000 after buying an additional 2,839 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 16.0% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 692,809 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $143,594,000 after acquiring an additional 95,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.5% during the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 11,157 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,353,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Performance

JPM stock opened at $259.46 on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a twelve month low of $165.24 and a twelve month high of $260.62. The firm has a market cap of $730.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.44, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $243.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.78. The company had revenue of $42.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.90 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 16.71%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.04 EPS. Analysts predict that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 17.46 earnings per share for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s payout ratio is 27.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on JPM shares. Baird R W downgraded shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays raised their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $304.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $224.00 in a report on Monday, September 30th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $217.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $251.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.94, for a total value of $838,763.82. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 47,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,092,622.80. This represents a 6.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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.