Westpac Banking Corp Sells 44,022 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Westpac Banking Corp trimmed its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 41.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 63,018 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 44,022 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $4,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,289,544,000. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 310.3% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,252,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $314,716,000 after purchasing an additional 3,216,000 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 15.0% in 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 buying an additional 3,157,923 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Charles Schwab by 91.0% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,217,799 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $460,179,000 after acquiring an additional 2,962,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth about $189,791,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total transaction of $268,101.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,586,123.76. This represents a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares in the company, valued at $67,770,450.07. This trade represents a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 513,081 shares of company stock valued at $41,903,066. Insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

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Charles Schwab Stock Down 7.7 %

NYSE:SCHW traded down $5.80 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $69.07. The company had a trading volume of 25,464,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,026,468. 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 Charles Schwab Co. has a twelve month low of $61.01 and a twelve month high of $84.50. The firm has a market cap of $125.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.91. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $79.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.73.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. This is an increase from Charles Schwab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $94.00 price objective (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen upgraded Charles Schwab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.94.

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.