Norden Group LLC Boosts Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Norden Group LLC grew its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 22.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,782 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 6,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Klingman & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 4,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 4,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Stablepoint Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 12,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SCHW opened at $78.08 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.11, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99. The Charles Schwab Co. has a one year low of $61.01 and a one year high of $84.50.

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, 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 firm 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. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid 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 yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of Charles Schwab 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at $1,523,242.94. This trade represents a 31.47 % 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, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value of $1,181,690.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 487,820 shares of company stock worth $39,938,849 over the last three months. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCHW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab currently has an average 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.