Leuthold Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Leuthold Group LLC cut its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,216 shares during the quarter. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $8,060,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of JPM. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

JPM opened at $260.25 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $258.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.67. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $179.20 and a fifty-two week high of $280.25. The firm has a market cap of $727.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.12.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.03 by $0.78. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 20.96%. The firm had revenue of $42.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 earnings per share for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

JPM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $257.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Baird R W downgraded shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer lowered JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $251.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Troy L. Rohrbaugh sold 37,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.84, for a total value of $10,119,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 158,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,737,529.04. This represents a 19.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jennifer Piepszak sold 4,273 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.85, for a total value of $1,153,069.05. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 54,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,698,459.65. This trade represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,326 shares of company stock valued at $12,448,445 in the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.