SOL Capital Management CO Decreases Stock Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

SOL Capital Management CO cut its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,185 shares during the period. SOL Capital Management CO's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $3,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SCHW. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 230.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 23,383 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 2,840.7% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 5,937 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 46.0% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 67,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,400,000 after buying an additional 21,377 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 155.9% during the third quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 104,168 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,751,000 after buying an additional 63,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equity Investment Corp increased its position in Charles Schwab by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Equity Investment Corp now owns 1,640,157 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $106,299,000 after acquiring an additional 140,643 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $94.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Redburn Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $76.00 to $73.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $84.11.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total transaction of $1,181,690.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total transaction of $699,397.36. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at $1,523,242.94. The trade was a 31.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,014 shares of company stock worth $4,052,281. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Charles Schwab stock opened at $83.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $148.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.99. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $61.01 and a 12 month high of $83.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock's 50-day moving average is $77.89 and its 200-day moving average is $71.00.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.33 billion during 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%. The company's revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is 33.44%.

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.

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