Sciencast Management LP Acquires 4,013 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Sciencast Management LP boosted its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,013 shares during the quarter. Sciencast Management LP's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $2,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 230.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 23,383 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 2,840.7% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 5,937 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 46.0% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 67,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,400,000 after buying an additional 21,377 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $688,000. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 293.9% in the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 9,108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total transaction of $38,057,761.39. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 827,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at $67,770,450.07. This represents a 35.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 9,887 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.38, for a total value of $745,282.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 47,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,613,038.78. The trade was a 17.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 501,087 shares of company stock valued at $40,952,233. Insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCHW traded up $0.85 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.81. The stock had a trading volume of 7,661,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,445,808. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.55 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. 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 Charles Schwab Co. has a 52 week low of $61.01 and a 52 week high of $84.50. The business's 50-day moving average price is $79.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.11.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. The firm 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on SCHW shares. TD Cowen raised Charles Schwab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Redburn Partners lowered their price objective 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. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $94.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.33.

Charles Schwab Company 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.