Kovack Advisors Inc. Cuts Holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Kovack Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 226 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter valued at $1,455,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 1,181,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $92,493,000 after purchasing an additional 68,858 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 248.3% in the 4th quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 112,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,317,000 after purchasing an additional 80,112 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 163,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,760,000 after purchasing an additional 11,505 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 17.2% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 199,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,631,000 after purchasing an additional 29,255 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on SCHW. TD Securities raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Barclays raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $98.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan M. Craig sold 47,500 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.46, for a total value of $4,201,850.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 10,129 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $911,711.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 39,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,524,251.54. This represents a 20.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 116,313 shares of company stock valued at $10,264,091 in the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $97.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $176.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.09, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $90.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a twelve month low of $61.15 and a twelve month high of $98.28.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.73% and a net margin of 33.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.