Scharf Investments LLC Makes New Investment in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Scharf Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 14,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 12,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.17, for a total transaction of $1,034,024.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,796,497.64. The trade was a 17.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 18,069 shares in the company, valued at $1,481,838.69. This represents a 11.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,014 shares of company stock valued at $4,052,281 in the last quarter. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SCHW shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America cut their price target on Charles Schwab from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.11.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 1.0 %

SCHW stock opened at $82.73 on Friday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a fifty-two week low of $61.01 and a fifty-two week high of $83.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $77.94 and a 200-day moving average of $71.08. The company has a market capitalization of $147.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.99. 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 company had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. This is an increase from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.44%.

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.