Leuthold Group LLC Trims Stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. $JPM

Leuthold Group LLC reduced its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 5.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,626 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. accounts for about 1.0% of Leuthold Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $10,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,396,496,000. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 15.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 65,660,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,314,681,000 after purchasing an additional 8,941,351 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 889.3% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 8,673,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,794,785,000 after buying an additional 7,796,814 shares in the last quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 32,672.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,647,071 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,521,126,000 after buying an additional 4,632,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1,172.2% in the 4th quarter. American Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,259,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $728,024,000 after buying an additional 2,081,800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of JPM opened at $358.21 on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $279.10 and a fifty-two week high of $366.50. The firm has a market cap of $952.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $349.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $320.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.59 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $58.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $50.72 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 21.86% and a return on equity of 18.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 24.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Robin Leopold sold 2,500 shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $361.41, for a total value of $903,525.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 73,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,580,621.27. The trade was a 3.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Stacey Friedman sold 5,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.73, for a total value of $1,808,100.91. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 40,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,547,031.53. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Hiring strengthens JPMorgan’s healthcare investment-banking franchise. The bank reportedly hired senior healthcare banker David Blais from Guggenheim Securities, adding industry expertise and potentially supporting advisory and capital-markets revenue. JPMorgan hires healthcare banker David Blais from Guggenheim
• Positive Sentiment: Persistent inflation could keep interest rates elevated. JPMorgan and BNP Paribas now expect another European Central Bank rate increase in December. Higher rates can support net interest income, although they may also weigh on loan demand and markets activity. JPMorgan and BNP Paribas expect ECB rate hike
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan’s rate outlook conflicts with market pricing. A senior JPMorgan strategist expects no U.S. rate increase for the remainder of the year, while futures markets reportedly assign meaningful odds to a hike. The disagreement increases uncertainty around bank valuations, bond trading and interest income. No increase in interest rates anytime this year
• Neutral Sentiment: A strong labor market is a mixed development. Reports of 162,000 new jobs may support loan demand and interest income, but they also raise the possibility of higher-for-longer rates, increased credit costs and valuation pressure for financial stocks. JPMorgan falls even as 162,000 jobs revive higher rates
• Negative Sentiment: Reduced financing for Jane Street highlights competitive pressure. JPMorgan reportedly scaled back financing to the quantitative trading firm as Jane Street expands in U.S. Treasury market-making, underscoring competition from nonbank firms in fixed-income markets. JPMorgan scales back Jane Street financing
• Negative Sentiment: Legal exposure remains an overhang. JPMorgan is seeking to stay a $20 million fee order related to the Javice litigation, keeping attention on litigation costs and reputational risk. JPMorgan seeks stay of $20M Javice, Amar fee order

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research upgraded JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $330.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $375.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $359.96.

About JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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.