Every investor in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that institutions own the lion’s share in the company with 75% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company.
And last week, institutional investors ended up benefitting the most after the company hit US$896b in market cap. One-year return to shareholders is currently 39% and last week’s gain was the icing on the cake.
Let’s delve deeper into each type of owner of JPMorgan Chase, beginning with the chart below.
Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.
As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in JPMorgan Chase. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of JPMorgan Chase, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.
NYSE:JPM Earnings and Revenue Growth December 27th 2025
Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. JPMorgan Chase is not owned by hedge funds. The Vanguard Group, Inc. is currently the company’s largest shareholder with 9.8% of shares outstanding. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 7.7% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 4.6% by the third-largest shareholder.
On studying our ownership data, we found that 25 of the top shareholders collectively own less than 50% of the share register, implying that no single individual has a majority interest.
Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock’s expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.
The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.
I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.
Our data suggests that insiders own under 1% of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in their own names. As it is a large company, we’d only expect insiders to own a small percentage of it. But it’s worth noting that they own US$3.1b worth of shares. In this sort of situation, it can be more interesting to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
With a 24% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over JPMorgan Chase. While this group can’t necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run.
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
