Kovack Advisors Inc. Lowers Holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Kovack Advisors Inc. reduced its position in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) by 29.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,143 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.3% in the second quarter. Pine Haven Investment Counsel Inc now owns 41,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,813,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.0% in the second quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 4.3% in the second quarter. Traveka Wealth LLC now owns 2,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.0% in the second quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,111,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tlwm lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.7% in the second quarter. Tlwm now owns 17,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,614,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Charles Schwab from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Charles Schwab from $109.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 target price on Charles Schwab and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $114.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $106.00.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:SCHW opened at $94.62 on Monday. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52-week low of $65.88 and a 52-week high of $99.59. The stock has a market cap of $171.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $94.29 and its 200 day moving average is $91.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.06. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 21.26% and a net margin of 35.93%.The business had revenue of $6.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.71 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.29%.

Charles Schwab declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.33, for a total value of $299,122.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 34,778 shares in the company, valued at $3,245,830.74. This trade represents a 8.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.81, for a total value of $594,800.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,154,265.63. This trade represents a 34.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 65,866 shares of company stock valued at $6,370,897 in the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.