The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Position Lessened by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers lowered its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,773,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 66,851 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $205,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Planning Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 12,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.17, for a total value of $1,034,024.63. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,796,497.64. The trade was a 17.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total transaction of $38,057,761.39. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,770,450.07. This represents a 35.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 512,143 shares of company stock valued at $41,917,493 over the last quarter. 6.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of SCHW opened at $80.32 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $78.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12-month low of $61.01 and a 12-month high of $84.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Charles Schwab’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is 33.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SCHW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Redburn Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.56.

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.