The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Position Trimmed by Equity Investment Corp

Equity Investment Corp decreased its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,604,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35,350 shares during the period. Charles Schwab comprises approximately 2.8% of Equity Investment Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Equity Investment Corp’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $118,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SCHW. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 230.1% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 33,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after acquiring an additional 23,383 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2,840.7% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 5,937 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 46.0% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 67,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,377 shares during the period. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $688,000. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners grew its stake in Charles Schwab by 293.9% during the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 9,108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $78.68 on Thursday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $78.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.38. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52 week low of $61.01 and a 52 week high of $84.50. The company has a market capitalization of $140.15 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is 36.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value of $1,181,690.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total value of $699,397.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at $1,523,242.94. This trade represents a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 487,820 shares of company stock worth $39,938,849 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on SCHW. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.