Stifel Financial Corp Trims Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Stifel Financial Corp trimmed its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 841,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,623 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $62,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 230.1% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 33,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,483,000 after buying an additional 23,383 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 46.0% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 67,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,377 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at $688,000. Golden State Equity Partners lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 293.9% in the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 9,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 637,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,674,000 after purchasing an additional 43,308 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE SCHW opened at $76.60 on Wednesday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a one year low of $61.01 and a one year high of $84.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.74. The firm has a market cap of $138.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced 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. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Equities research 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Frank C. Herringer sold 3,592 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $266,741.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 172,162 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,784,750.12. This represents a 2.04 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total transaction of $699,397.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at $1,523,242.94. This represents a 31.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 502,030 shares of company stock worth $40,988,118 over the last 90 days. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $76.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Charles Schwab from $96.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Redburn Partners cut their target price on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $93.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.78.

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.