JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon executed his first-ever sale of the company’s stock on Thursday, divesting $150 million worth, according to a recent filing. This move aligns with Dimon’s previously indicated intent to unload stock.
Dimon sold 821,800 JPMorgan shares at average prices near $182.73, as reported in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These sales were conducted through a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, allowing company insiders like executives and board members to arrange predetermined stock sales.
While JPMorgan shares have been reaching all-time highs recently, it remains unclear whether these sales were triggered by specific conditions or if they were planned based on timing, noted Ben Silverman, Vice President of Research at VerityData, a company tracking insider activity. Silverman raised questions about the use of trigger prices based on a review of the stock’s daily chart, particularly given that Dimon’s selling coincided with the first day JPMorgan shares traded at or above $182.
Since Dimon adopted his trading plan, JPMorgan’s stock has surged approximately 30%. Silverman described this as an ambitious trigger for a plan with a relatively short duration, which expires on August 23. Dimon could potentially sell up to an additional 178,000 shares under this plan.
Dimon initially disclosed the plan to sell up to one million shares last year, citing reasons of financial diversification and tax planning. JPMorgan declined to comment further on Dimon’s selling activity beyond what was previously disclosed in an October filing.
Silverman noted that he had anticipated Dimon to commence selling around this time since the “cooling-off” period for his trading plan had recently concluded. However, he had expected Dimon to divest shares more gradually, rather than through a single large sale at the outset.
In addition to Dimon, other JPMorgan insiders also sold stock on Thursday. Chief Information Officer Lori Beer sold $716,000 in stock, while General Counsel Stacey Friedman disposed of $1.1 million. Troy Rohrbaugh, co-CEO of JPMorgan’s commercial and investment bank, also unloaded $13.7 million in stock. These sales were also conducted through trading plans.
A JPMorgan spokesperson emphasized that these sales represent only a small fraction of their holdings and were in accordance with 10b5-1 selling programs.
Prior to Thursday’s selling, Dimon had been purchasing JPMorgan’s stock, with his last acquisition on the open market dating back to February 2016, according to Silverman.