JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Position Cut by Viking Fund Management LLC

Viking Fund Management LLC cut its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 4.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 64,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. comprises 2.3% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $12,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 132.8% in the fourth quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Bare Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Partnership Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, insider Elena A. Korablina sold 21,829 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.91, for a total transaction of $4,167,374.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,237,860.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Elena A. Korablina sold 21,829 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.91, for a total value of $4,167,374.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,237,860.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James Dimon sold 178,222 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.18, for a total value of $32,824,927.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 264,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,708,426.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 250,565 shares of company stock worth $46,962,717. Insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on JPM shares. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $219.00 to $217.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com cut JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 19th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. UBS Group increased their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $219.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $188.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.10.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of JPM stock opened at $202.34 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $581.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The business has a fifty day moving average of $196.91 and a 200 day moving average of $185.92. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 1 year low of $135.19 and a 1 year high of $205.88.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $4.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.18 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $41.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.90 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a return on equity of 17.79% and a net margin of 20.05%. As a group, research analysts expect that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 16.44 earnings per share for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 27.78%.

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.