Ninety One UK Ltd Sells 161,324 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Ninety One UK Ltd trimmed its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,257,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 161,324 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $93,057,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 230.1% during 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 buying an additional 23,383 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 2,840.7% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 5,937 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $688,000. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 9,108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on SCHW shares. Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Citigroup raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on Charles Schwab from $76.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.11.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

NYSE:SCHW opened at $81.90 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $77.99 and a 200-day moving average of $71.36. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52 week low of $61.01 and a 52 week high of $83.84. The company has a market capitalization of $145.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.39, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is currently 33.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total transaction of $192,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,391,674.38. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,523,242.94. This represents a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,014 shares of company stock worth $4,052,281 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

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.