LS Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

LS Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 1.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the quarter. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $2,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SCHW. Country Trust Bank purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 97.5% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.9 %

SCHW stock traded down $0.57 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $63.91. The stock had a trading volume of 7,003,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,078,540. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.12. The company has a market capitalization of $113.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.74, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.99. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1-year low of $48.66 and a 1-year high of $79.49.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.68 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 26.30%. Charles Schwab’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is currently 41.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities cut their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays cut their target price on Charles Schwab from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $71.00 price target (down previously from $88.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Charles Schwab from $71.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Bernard J. Clark sold 8,164 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $612,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,666 shares in the company, valued at $9,124,950. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Charles Schwab news, insider Bernard J. Clark sold 8,164 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $612,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 121,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,124,950. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Walter W. Bettinger bought 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $66.26 per share, for a total transaction of $1,656,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,822,000.02. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 107,800 shares of company stock worth $7,145,364. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Charles Schwab Company Profile

The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a savings and loan holding company that provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services.