Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,578,586 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 245,703 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. makes up 0.7% of Principal Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.20% of JPMorgan Chase & Co. worth $1,337,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in JPM. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $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 raised its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 38.5% during the 3rd quarter. New England Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In other news, insider Robin Leopold sold 1,250 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.09, for a total transaction of $337,612.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,606,323.93. The trade was a 2.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 3,303 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.94, for a total value of $838,763.82. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 47,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,092,622.80. The trade was a 6.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,326 shares of company stock valued at $12,448,445 over the last three months. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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. Barclays increased their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $304.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird downgraded JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $251.78.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

JPM stock opened at $258.70 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $257.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 52-week low of $179.20 and a 52-week high of $280.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $723.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.12.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.81 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company 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 posted $3.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 EPS for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.33%.

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.