Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Trims Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. cut its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 82.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 38,401 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SCHW. Country Trust Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the second quarter worth $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the second quarter worth $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Charles Schwab stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Thursday, hitting $64.24. The stock had a trading volume of 9,125,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,990,900. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.02. The stock has a market cap of $114.25 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $48.66 and a 12 month high of $79.49.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.68 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 26.30% and a return on equity of 18.14%. The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.84%.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In related news, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 12,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.10, for a total value of $802,032.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 562,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,594,597.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 12,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.10, for a total value of $802,032.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 562,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,594,597.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bernard J. Clark sold 8,164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $612,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,124,950. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 185,231 shares of company stock worth $12,638,320. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SCHW. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $71.00 target price (down previously from $88.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $71.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JMP Securities lowered their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.27.

About Charles Schwab

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.