Howard Capital Management Inc. Acquires 632 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Howard Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 45,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,353,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares in the last quarter. ST. Nicholas Private Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 8,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the period. SAM Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. SAM Advisors LLC now owns 48,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,582,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 36.5% during the fourth quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 11,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $818,000 after acquiring an additional 2,955 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $80.16 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $78.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.22. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12-month low of $61.01 and a 12-month high of $84.50. 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 company has a market capitalization of $142.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.81, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. Charles Schwab’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.12%.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total value of $699,397.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,523,242.94. The trade was a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total value of $38,057,761.39. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,770,450.07. This trade represents a 35.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 487,820 shares of company stock worth $39,938,849. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SCHW. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Redburn Partners lowered their target price on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.33.

Charles Schwab 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.