JPMorgan Chase & Co. executives offloaded a clutch of stock this week for a total of about $169 million. Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon led the charge, with his first-ever sale of $150 million in stock sold at a price of $182.73 per share.
In addition to Dimon, co-CEO for the commercial and investment bank Troy Rohrbaugh sold $13.7 million in holdings, which represents nearly a third (31%) of his stock in the bank, according to an analysis from inside stock sales data firm InsiderScore. General counsel Stacey Friedman offloaded $1.1 million worth of stock, and chief information officer Lori Beer cashed in $716,400 in JPM stock. All the sales were made subject to trading plans known as 10b5-1 plans, which allow executives and board members to sell stock at certain prices and times. Selling stock via a 10b5-1 plan also gives executives a safe harbor defense against possible insider trading charges, because executives set up the plans when they don’t possess material inside information that could cause swings in the stock price.
According to InsiderScore, Dimon’s sale came on the same day that JPMorgan’s stock traded above $182 for the first time. When he became CEO in 2005, the stock was trading at about $40. Dimon can sell another 178,000 shares under his current stock trading plan, which expires in August. He still holds 7.7 million shares of the bank and he hasn’t made plans to leave yet. He described what he is looking for in a successor last year. “I think the most important traits [are] that you’re trusted and respected by people, that you work your ass off, that you give a s**t, that you know you don’t know everything,” Dimon said.
Dimon last year made $36 million in compensation, including a $1.5 million base salary and performance-based equity worth $34.5 million.
The bank announced in October that Dimon and his family would begin selling a portion of their stockholdings for financial diversification and tax planning reasons. His family holdings include about 8.6 million shares and Dimon still holds half a million in unvested performance share units and stock appreciation rights related to 1.5 million shares.
JPMorgan requires Dimon to hold at least a 1 million shares at a minimum, or at least $75 million in stock. He is banned from holding shares in a margin account or pledging them as collateral. As a director, he is normally expected to refrain from selling stock he received as compensation or stock he purchased himself on the open market, according to the company’s governance principles.
In addition to Dimon and the other executives, other high-ranking leaders at the bank pruned their holdings this month. Chief risk officer Ashley Bacon sold shares worth $603,000; Mary Erdoes, CEO of the asset and wealth management group sold $862,000; CEO of consumer and community banking Marianne Lake sold $798,000 in stock; CEO of commercial banking Douglas Petno sold $585,000; co-CEO of commercial and investment bank Jennifer Piepszak sold $295,000; and, vice chairman Peter Scher sold $324,000.
JPMorgan did not respond to a request for comment.