Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $40.42 Million in JPMorgan Chase & Co. $JPM

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 137,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $40,418,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. accounts for about 0.7% of Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Roxbury Financial LLC boosted its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 8,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,581,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Collective Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Collective Family Office LLC now owns 3,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,076,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Essential Planning LLC. raised its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Essential Planning LLC. now owns 1,399 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Tevis Investment Management raised its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.8% during the third quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 4,238 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Spinnaker Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC now owns 5,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan cleared the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test, reinforcing that the bank is well capitalized and can withstand a severe downturn. That result supports higher payouts and helps confirm the firm’s balance-sheet strength. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The board approved a 10% dividend increase and a new $50 billion share buyback, which is a strong signal of confidence in earnings power and capital generation. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The stock recently hit an all-time high as investors reacted favorably to the dividend boost, buyback authorization, and ongoing confidence in JPMorgan’s earnings and capital return profile. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Autonomous Res decreased their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $360.00 to $324.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Evercore increased their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Argus raised their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $340.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $340.00 to $328.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $339.58.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of JPM opened at $328.73 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $880.83 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 1 year low of $279.10 and a 1 year high of $343.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $311.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $308.38.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $5.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.50 by $0.44. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a return on equity of 17.54% and a net margin of 20.66%.The company had revenue of $50.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 22.43 EPS for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In related news, CFO Jeremy Barnum sold 3,022 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.41, for a total transaction of $935,037.02. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 32,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,036,641.58. This represents a 8.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Jennifer Piepszak sold 4,919 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.42, for a total transaction of $1,522,036.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 85,082 shares in the company, valued at $26,326,072.44. This represents a 5.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 33,623 shares of company stock valued at $10,427,835 in the last 90 days. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Profile

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.