Royal Fund Management LLC Grows Stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Royal Fund Management LLC increased its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,650 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. comprises approximately 1.1% of Royal Fund Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Royal Fund Management LLC’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $10,151,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 132.8% in the fourth quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC now owns 156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 7,833.3% in the third quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Stuart Chaussee & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on JPM shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $182.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $196.00 to $195.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jennifer Piepszak sold 1,648 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.96, for a total transaction of $294,926.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,873,288.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Vice Chairman Peter Scher sold 1,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.96, for a total transaction of $323,917.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 44,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,045,325.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer Piepszak sold 1,648 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.96, for a total transaction of $294,926.08. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,819 shares in the company, valued at $5,873,288.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,063,506 shares of company stock worth $195,024,605 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Up 1.0 %

JPM opened at $197.53 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 1-year low of $133.13 and a 1-year high of $200.94. The company has a market capitalization of $567.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.32.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $4.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.45. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 20.05% and a return on equity of 17.79%. The business had revenue of $41.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.90 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is an increase from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.78%.

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.