Argent Trust Co Has $68.98 Million Stock Position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

Argent Trust Co boosted its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 287,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 769 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. comprises about 2.8% of Argent Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $68,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in JPM. DDD Partners LLC raised its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. DDD Partners LLC now owns 1,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 1,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Yoder Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Almanack Investment Partners LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. now owns 5,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,233,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 71.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on JPM. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Evercore ISI dropped 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 report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $269.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.83.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Stock Down 2.4 %

JPM traded down $5.72 during trading on Thursday, reaching $228.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,025,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,617,507. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.89. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 12 month low of $179.20 and a 12 month high of $280.25. The company has a market cap of $639.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $250.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $241.75.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $4.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $41.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 18.1 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $1.40 per share. 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 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.37%.

Insider Activity at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

In related news, insider Robin Leopold sold 1,250 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 50,377 shares in the company, valued at $13,606,323.93. This trade represents a 2.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Troy L. Rohrbaugh sold 25,000 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.02, for a total value of $6,175,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 133,381 shares in the company, valued at $32,947,774.62. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 76,848 shares of company stock valued at $19,987,908. 0.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.