Kennebec Savings Bank Decreases Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Kennebec Savings Bank lessened its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of SCHW opened at $83.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market cap of $148.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.00. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52 week low of $61.01 and a 52 week high of $83.84.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is 33.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles Schwab news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value of $1,181,690.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $188,623.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,481,838.69. This represents a 11.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,014 shares of company stock worth $4,052,281. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on SCHW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.11.

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.