Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,684,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,388,407 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. makes up approximately 0.9% of Franklin Resources Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $3,280,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the third quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trading Down 8.1 %

NYSE:JPM opened at $210.09 on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 1 year low of $179.20 and a 1 year high of $280.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $254.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $241.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $587.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.01.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last announced 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 net margin of 20.96% and a return on equity of 16.99%. The firm had revenue of $42.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. This is a boost from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.37%.

Insider Activity at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, insider Robin Leopold sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.09, for a total value of $337,612.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 50,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,606,323.93. This represents a 2.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Troy L. Rohrbaugh sold 37,500 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.84, for a total value of $10,119,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 158,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,737,529.04. This trade represents a 19.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 76,848 shares of company stock valued at $19,987,908 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $257.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Baird R W raised JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $273.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, JPMorgan Chase & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.83.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co is a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of financial and investment banking services. It focuses on investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. It operates through the following segments: Consumer and Community Banking (CCB), Commercial and Investment Bank (CIB), Asset and Wealth Management (AWM), and Corporate.