Carnegie Investment Counsel Trims Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Carnegie Investment Counsel lowered its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 455,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,865 shares during the period. Charles Schwab accounts for approximately 1.0% of Carnegie Investment Counsel’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $33,723,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Charles Schwab by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 55,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,119,000 after purchasing an additional 3,354 shares during the period. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth about $322,000. Brave Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 3,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the period. Finally, ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 12,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.17, for a total transaction of $1,034,024.63. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,092 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,796,497.64. This trade represents a 17.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total transaction of $192,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,069 shares in the company, valued at $1,391,674.38. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,823 shares of company stock valued at $2,171,194. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Charles Schwab stock opened at $75.40 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.45, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.99. 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 52-week low of $59.67 and a 52-week high of $83.35.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 27.47% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. Charles Schwab’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on SCHW. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Cowen raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Charles Schwab from $68.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.63.

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.