Ibex Wealth Advisors Buys New Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Ibex Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,448 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SCHW. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Charles Schwab by 15.0% during 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 acquiring 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 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,711,312 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd lifted its stake 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 period. KBC Group NV grew its position in Charles Schwab by 186.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,138,033 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $158,236,000 after buying an additional 1,392,255 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at $86,845,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab 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 value of $192,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,069 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,391,674.38. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,014 shares of company stock worth $4,052,281 over the last 90 days. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cowen boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $94.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $84.11.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE SCHW traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $83.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,189,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,821,645. The business has a 50 day moving average of $77.89 and a 200-day moving average of $71.00. The company has a market cap of $147.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.99. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1-year low of $61.01 and a 1-year high of $83.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. 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 analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $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 expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is presently 33.44%.

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.