Employees Retirement System of Texas Trims Stock Position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. $JPM

Employees Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 541,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,700 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. makes up approximately 1.4% of Employees Retirement System of Texas’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Employees Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $174,321,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of JPM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 48,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,682,000 after acquiring an additional 4,841 shares during the period. Acorns Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 6.9% during the first quarter. Acorns Advisers LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC increased its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.7% during the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 10,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,185,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the second quarter worth approximately $1,475,000. Finally, Betterment LLC increased its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 27.5% during the second quarter. Betterment LLC now owns 1,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. 71.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on JPM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $361.00 target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Autonomous Res reduced their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $360.00 to $324.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. DZ Bank reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $288.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $339.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 5,468 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.27, for a total value of $1,641,876.36. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 46,428 shares in the company, valued at $13,940,935.56. This trade represents a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Jeremy Barnum sold 5,611 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.55, for a total transaction of $1,720,052.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,870,263. This trade represents a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 28,589 shares of company stock valued at $8,747,496 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

NYSE JPM opened at $310.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $303.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $306.44. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 52-week low of $260.31 and a 52-week high of $337.25. The company has a market cap of $833.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.00.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $5.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.50 by $0.44. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 20.66% and a return on equity of 17.54%. The firm had revenue of $50.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.07 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 22.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.74%.

More JPMorgan Chase & Co. News

Here are the key news stories impacting JPMorgan Chase & Co. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jamie Dimon is personally promoting SpaceX’s expected blockbuster IPO to 2,500 ultra-wealthy JPMorgan clients, highlighting JPMorgan’s ability to win marquee mandates and generate advisory and placement fees. Reuters article on Dimon discussing SpaceX IPO roadshow
• Positive Sentiment: Reports say JPMorgan is also looking at acquisition opportunities, with CEO Jamie Dimon previously suggesting the bank could deploy $10 billion to $20 billion for a deal, which could support growth if executed well. Yahoo Finance article on acquisition opportunities
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan and other major banks are planning a tokenized deposit system to compete with stablecoins and crypto firms, a longer-term strategic move that could help defend the payments business but is not an immediate earnings driver. WSJ article on tokenized deposit system
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan disclosed that some affiliated entities exited a substantial holder position in PLS Group and increased a stake in a2 Milk, but these are portfolio actions by affiliates and are unlikely to move JPMorgan’s shares meaningfully. TipRanks article on PLS Group filing
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary from JPMorgan has warned that the crypto-focused CLARITY Act faces a narrow path to passage, underscoring ongoing policy uncertainty in an area the bank is watching closely. Benzinga article on CLARITY Act timing

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE: JPM) is a diversified global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. The company provides a wide range of banking and financial products and services to consumers, small businesses, corporations, governments and institutional investors worldwide. Its operations span retail banking, commercial lending, investment banking, asset management, payments and card services, and treasury and securities services.

The firm’s principal business activities are organized across several core lines: Consumer & Community Banking, which offers deposit accounts, mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and branch and digital banking under the Chase brand; Corporate & Investment Banking, which provides capital markets, advisory, underwriting, trading and risk management services; Commercial Banking, delivering lending, treasury and capital solutions to middle-market and corporate clients; and Asset & Wealth Management, which offers investment management, private banking and retirement services to institutions and high-net-worth individuals.