Long Focus Capital Management LLC Takes $330,000 Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Long Focus Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 6,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $330,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Beacon Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 54.8% during the first quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 704.2% during the first quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC now owns 571 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.61% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of Charles Schwab stock traded down $1.58 on Wednesday, reaching $58.10. 3,184,672 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,022,732. The Charles Schwab Co. has a one year low of $45.00 and a one year high of $86.63. The company has a market capitalization of $102.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $61.32 and a 200 day moving average of $58.24.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 27.54% and a net margin of 33.15%. The business had revenue of $4.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 11th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 10th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.15%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.61, for a total transaction of $476,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 8,014 shares in the company, valued at $477,714.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Charles Schwab news, Director Charles A. Ruffel bought 833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 17th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $60.55 per share, for a total transaction of $50,438.15. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,386 shares in the company, valued at approximately $205,022.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 8,000 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.61, for a total value of $476,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $477,714.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 155,807 shares of company stock worth $10,325,149. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on SCHW shares. JMP Securities increased their price target on Charles Schwab from $73.00 to $77.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Citigroup raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James raised Charles Schwab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $63.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, May 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.09.

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. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services.