Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Acquires 35,399 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 242.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 50,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 35,399 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab accounts for approximately 1.0% of Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $3,703,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SCHW. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 62.6% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SCHW opened at $83.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $148.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.99. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52-week low of $61.01 and a 52-week high of $83.94. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. Charles Schwab’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 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

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SCHW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Charles Schwab from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.50.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, Director Christopher V. Dodds sold 9,284 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.43, for a total transaction of $755,996.12. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 442,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,057,774.01. The trade was a 2.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total transaction of $192,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,391,674.38. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,014 shares of company stock valued at $4,052,281. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.