Park Avenue Securities LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Park Avenue Securities LLC decreased its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,970 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,261,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,644,674,000 after buying an additional 3,157,923 shares during the period. Darsana Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 200.0% in the second quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,070,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000,000 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 6.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 28,679,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,858,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711,312 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2,617.6% in the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,707,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644,931 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the third quarter worth about $86,845,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SCHW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Cowen upped their target price 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. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.41.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCHW opened at $76.53 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $136.20 billion, a PE ratio of 29.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $77.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.65. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1 year low of $61.01 and a 1 year high of $83.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is 39.06%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $188,623.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,069 shares in the company, valued at $1,481,838.69. This trade represents a 11.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Christopher V. Dodds sold 9,284 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 442,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,057,774.01. This trade represents a 2.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,823 shares of company stock valued at $2,171,194. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

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.