The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Holdings Lowered by Avestar Capital LLC

Avestar Capital LLC cut its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 745 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Country Trust Bank acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter worth $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 97.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SCHW. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $68.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.18.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 12,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.17, for a total value of $1,034,024.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,796,497.64. This represents a 17.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,500 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total value of $192,550.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,069 shares in the company, valued at $1,391,674.38. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 127,968 shares of company stock worth $9,419,271. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCHW opened at $82.60 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.94. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52 week low of $55.59 and a 52 week high of $82.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $147.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.96.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 27.47% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. Charles Schwab’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.06%.

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.