JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Sets New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $280.25 and last traded at $279.30, with a volume of 7005213 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $279.95.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on JPM shares. Bank of America increased their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $269.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $251.78.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $738.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.12. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $255.63 and its 200-day moving average is $234.48.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s payout ratio is 25.33%.

Insider Transactions at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, insider Robin Leopold sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.09, for a total transaction of $337,612.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 50,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,606,323.93. This represents a 2.42 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Troy L. Rohrbaugh sold 37,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.84, for a total transaction of $10,119,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 158,381 shares in the company, valued at $42,737,529.04. This trade represents a 19.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 46,326 shares of company stock worth $12,448,445. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On JPMorgan Chase & Co.

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 71.55% of the company's stock.

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.