Empirical Finance LLC Sells 571 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Empirical Finance LLC cut its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 571 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $3,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC boosted 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 worth $924,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2.7% during the third quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Michael S. Ryan Inc. lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Michael S. Ryan Inc. now owns 5,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GS Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.3% in the third quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 57,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,722,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on SCHW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.50.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of SCHW opened at $83.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.99. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12-month low of $61.01 and a 12-month high of $84.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.44%.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In related news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total transaction of $1,181,690.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total transaction of $699,397.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at $1,523,242.94. This represents a 31.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,014 shares of company stock valued at $4,052,281. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.