Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Acquires 3,228 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 28.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,580 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,228 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,078,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Maia Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 43,172 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,195,000 after buying an additional 4,450 shares in the last quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 25,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,899,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. Sherman Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth approximately $112,000. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 81,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,016,000 after purchasing an additional 4,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Providence First Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SCHW shares. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen raised shares of Charles Schwab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.33.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of SCHW traded up $1.73 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $76.88. 10,896,151 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,125,294. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12-month low of $61.01 and a 12-month high of $84.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $78.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.83.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Charles Schwab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.12%.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In related news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total value of $38,057,761.39. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,770,450.07. This represents a 35.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total value of $699,397.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,523,242.94. This trade represents a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 491,200 shares of company stock valued at $40,206,950 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

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.