Smart Portfolios LLC Trims Stock Holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Smart Portfolios LLC reduced its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 90 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. comprises 1.3% of Smart Portfolios LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Smart Portfolios LLC’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $1,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of JPM. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 31.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,784,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,539,132,000 after acquiring an additional 4,043,841 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 34,259.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,499,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $838,865,000 after purchasing an additional 3,489,314 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 137.8% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,376,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $922,760,000 after buying an additional 2,535,590 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 93.6% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,692,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $567,669,000 after buying an additional 1,301,764 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 7.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 15,073,193 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,338,955,000 after buying an additional 1,016,289 shares in the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock opened at $238.86 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $257.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $239.11. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 12-month low of $179.20 and a 12-month high of $280.25. The firm has a market cap of $667.89 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.10. 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. (NYSE:JPM) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $42.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.90 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 20.96%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 EPS for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a boost from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s payout ratio is 28.37%.

Insider Activity at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, insider Robin Leopold sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.09, for a total value of $337,612.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,377 shares in the company, valued at $13,606,323.93. This trade represents a 2.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 3,303 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were 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 sold a total of 46,326 shares of company stock worth $12,448,445 over the last quarter. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $257.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of 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 raised shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $220.00 in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $269.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.89.

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.