Provident Trust Co. Cuts Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Provident Trust Co. trimmed its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 26.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,184,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,473,985 shares during the period. Charles Schwab makes up approximately 5.9% of Provident Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Provident Trust Co. owned 0.24% of Charles Schwab worth $287,862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SCHW. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 26.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 29,775,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,634,700,000 after acquiring an additional 6,195,934 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Charles Schwab by 186.2% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,107,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $390,234,000 after buying an additional 4,624,302 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Charles Schwab by 134.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,300,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $290,986,000 after buying an additional 3,038,517 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Charles Schwab by 31.1% during the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,247,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $397,877,000 after buying an additional 1,717,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Charles Schwab by 3,123.9% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,686,000 after buying an additional 1,318,203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE SCHW traded up $0.10 on Friday, reaching $74.99. The company had a trading volume of 5,560,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,173,721. The firm has a market cap of $133.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.01. The Charles Schwab Co. has a fifty-two week low of $45.65 and a fifty-two week high of $75.55. The business has a 50 day moving average of $69.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is currently 41.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCHW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles Schwab news, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.29, for a total transaction of $587,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 585,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,198,371.53. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 29,991 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.80, for a total transaction of $2,033,389.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 81,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,522,038.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.29, for a total transaction of $587,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 585,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,198,371.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 394,648 shares of company stock worth $27,400,905. Company 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.