The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Stake Lessened by Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC

Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 166,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,845 shares during the period. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $10,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SCHW. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its position in Charles Schwab by 62.6% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Charles Schwab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCHW traded down $3.31 on Friday, hitting $79.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,660,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,012,078. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $59.67 and a 12 month high of $83.35. The stock's 50-day moving average is $75.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.41. 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 company has a market capitalization of $141.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.96.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.78 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 27.47% and a return on equity of 16.92%. Charles Schwab's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In related news, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.05, for a total value of $576,450.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 554,929 shares in the company, valued at $35,543,202.45. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider now owns 18,069 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,481,838.69. The trade was a 11.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 127,968 shares of company stock valued at $9,419,271. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on SCHW. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $68.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Cowen raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.75.

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.