DnB Asset Management AS Decreases Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

DnB Asset Management AS lessened its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 440,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 60,356 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $32,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,289,544,000. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 310.3% during the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,252,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $314,716,000 after buying an additional 3,216,000 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.0% in the third 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at $189,791,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter worth about $185,649,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 9,887 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.38, for a total transaction of $745,282.06. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 47,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,613,038.78. This represents a 17.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total value of $38,057,761.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $67,770,450.07. This trade represents a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 509,701 shares of company stock valued at $41,641,353 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

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Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE SCHW traded up $1.47 on Wednesday, reaching $79.14. The stock had a trading volume of 3,608,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,870,337. 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 stock has a market cap of $143.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. The business's 50-day moving average price is $79.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.67. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12-month low of $61.01 and a 12-month high of $84.50.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Charles Schwab's revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Charles Schwab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is 36.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Redburn Partners cut their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup raised Charles Schwab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $85.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $87.28.

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.