Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM - Free Report) by 39.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 95,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,264 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $22,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JPM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,450,775 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $938,491,000 after purchasing an additional 319,730 shares during the period. Sageworth Trust Co increased its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 37.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 2,839 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 16.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.5% during the 3rd 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 during the period. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE JPM traded up $5.19 on Monday, reaching $259.46. 17,629,775 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,107,328. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $165.24 and a fifty-two week high of $260.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $730.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 1.11. The business's fifty day moving average price is $243.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.78. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 19.64% and a return on equity of 16.71%. The firm had revenue of $42.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $41.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.04 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 17.46 earnings per share for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on JPM shares. Citigroup upped their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Baird R W downgraded JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of 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 research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $251.78.

Insider Transactions at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In other news, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.94, for a total transaction of $838,763.82. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.79% of the company's stock.

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.