After Jeff Bezos unloaded $4 billion in Amazon stock, JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon sold $150 million in shares—a first for the banking chief
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon and his family sold $150 million worth of the bank’s stock, following through on last year’s announcement that he would begin selling shares for the first time since taking the helm 18 years ago.
Dimon and his family sold about 822,000 shares in a series of transactions on Thursday, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The stock, which has outperformed the broader market and peers during his tenure, is trading at a record high.
“Mr. Dimon continues to believe the company’s prospects are very strong and his stake in the company will remain very significant,” the company said in an October filing about his planned sales. A representative for the firm declined further comment on Friday.
The October announcement said Dimon planned to sell one million shares, subject to terms of a stock-trading plan. Along with his family, he continues to hold about 7.7 million shares after Thursday’s sales.
JPMorgan was a winner among banks last year amid its deal for First Republic Bank, with its stock rallying 27% and the New York-based company posting record net interest income.
When he took over as CEO, the stock was trading for about $40. He sold the shares on Thursday for nearly $183 a piece, as the stock had rallied roughly 30% since the October announcement that he planned to offload shares. Shares gained 0.5% on Friday.
On Wall Street, analysts are decisively bullish on JPMorgan shares’ prospects. Two dozen hold buy-equivalent recommendations, giving it the highest consensus rating among its handful of biggest banking peers. The return potential implied by their price targets is more than 4% over the next twelve months.
