Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 3,081 Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Essex Financial Services Inc. lowered its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 59,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,081 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. makes up approximately 1.0% of Essex Financial Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $10,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. grew its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Mine & Arao Wealth Creation & Management LLC. now owns 20,255 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,445,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,003,422 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $510,882,000 after acquiring an additional 260,916 shares during the period. Berry Wealth Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,091,000. Cannell & Co. increased its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Cannell & Co. now owns 83,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,254,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Owen LaRue LLC raised its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Owen LaRue LLC now owns 27,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,653,000 after purchasing an additional 2,168 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jennifer Piepszak sold 1,648 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.96, for a total transaction of $294,926.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,873,288.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, CEO Jennifer Piepszak sold 1,648 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.96, for a total transaction of $294,926.08. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,873,288.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 6,030 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.73, for a total transaction of $1,101,861.90. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 59,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,864,394.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,042,525 shares of company stock valued at $190,961,526 in the last ninety days. 0.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JPM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $188.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.05.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock opened at $191.80 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $191.74 and its 200 day moving average is $173.16. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a one year low of $133.13 and a one year high of $200.94. The firm has a market cap of $550.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $4.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $41.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $40.90 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 15.98 EPS for the current year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 5th were given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 4th. This is a positive change from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.78%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Profile

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.