Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC Cuts Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC reduced its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 25.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,289 shares during the period. Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, Director Christopher V. Dodds sold 9,284 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.43, for a total value of $755,996.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 442,807 shares in the company, valued at $36,057,774.01. This trade represents a 2.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,391,674.38. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,014 shares of company stock valued at $4,052,281. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW opened at $83.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.66. The company has a market capitalization of $148.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.99. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12-month low of $61.01 and a 12-month high of $84.04.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SCHW shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Cowen upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.50.

Charles Schwab 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.