Blue Trust Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 52.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,312 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Charles Schwab by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,261,234 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,644,674,000 after buying an additional 3,157,923 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 6.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 28,679,305 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,858,706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711,312 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 2,617.6% in the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,707,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $110,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644,931 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,138,033 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $158,236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $86,845,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of SCHW stock traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $81.88. 9,361,765 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,480,031. 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 Charles Schwab Co. has a 52-week low of $61.01 and a 52-week high of $84.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $77.98 and a 200 day moving average of $72.76. The company has a market cap of $145.84 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. Charles Schwab's revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is presently 36.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on SCHW shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. 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 raised their price objective on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Charles Schwab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $188,623.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,069 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,481,838.69. This represents a 11.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 12,739 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.17, for a total value of $1,034,024.63. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,092 shares in the company, valued at $4,796,497.64. This represents a 17.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 502,859 shares of company stock worth $41,161,496. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Company 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.