Zuckerman Investment Group LLC Purchases 728 Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC grew its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 61,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 728 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. makes up approximately 1.4% of Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $14,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Midwest Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. 71.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:JPM opened at $234.58 on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 12 month low of $179.20 and a 12 month high of $280.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $655.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $250.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $241.75.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.03 by $0.78. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a return on equity of 16.99% and a net margin of 20.96%. The company had revenue of $42.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $41.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.04 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. This is a positive change from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 28.37%.

Insider Activity

In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 3,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.94, for a total value of $838,763.82. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 47,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,092,622.80. This trade represents a 6.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Troy L. Rohrbaugh sold 37,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 19.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 76,848 shares of company stock worth $19,987,908. 0.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on JPM. UBS Group boosted their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Baird R W upgraded shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $285.00 to $284.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $304.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.83.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Profile

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.