Synovus Financial Corp Trims Stock Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Synovus Financial Corp reduced its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,782 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $3,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,289,544,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 69.4% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,700,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $717,898,000 after acquiring an additional 3,974,940 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 310.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,216,000 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 91.0% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,217,799 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $460,179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,962,878 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value 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, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,380 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total transaction of $268,101.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,586,123.76. This represents a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 513,081 shares of company stock valued at $41,903,066. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE SCHW traded up $0.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $76.52. 19,270,925 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,292,439. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $77.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.40. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12-month low of $61.01 and a 12-month high of $84.50. The firm has a market cap of $138.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.46 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SCHW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $93.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan analyst Kenneth Worthington reiterated an Overweight rating and $92 target. Ahead of earnings, he highlighted Schwab’s earnings model and positive impact of rising cash allocations. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.44.

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.