ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) by 0.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 246,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,117 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. comprises 2.1% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $51,970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $800,130,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 23.3% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 17,200,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,445,185,000 after purchasing an additional 3,252,451 shares during the last quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its stake in JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 19,920.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 2,801,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $566,632,000 after purchasing an additional 2,787,510 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 6,239.1% during the 2nd quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,418,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $277,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 22,696,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,590,412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,040,594 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.55% of the company’s stock.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

JPM stock opened at $224.45 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $213.63 and a 200-day moving average of $204.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $644.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.11. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a 12 month low of $135.19 and a 12 month high of $225.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $4.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.02 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $43.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.43 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 20.32% and a return on equity of 17.26%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.33 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 16.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This is a positive change from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on JPM shares. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $234.00 to $232.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered JPMorgan Chase & Co. from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $220.00 to $224.00 in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.94.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Company Profile

JPMorgan Chase & Co operates as a financial services company worldwide. It operates through four segments: Consumer & Community Banking (CCB), Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB), Commercial Banking (CB), and Asset & Wealth Management (AWM). The CCB segment offers deposit, investment and lending products, cash management, and payments and services; mortgage origination and servicing activities; residential mortgages and home equity loans; and credit cards, auto loans, leases, and travel services to consumers and small businesses through bank branches, ATMs, and digital and telephone banking.