Scott & Selber Inc. Reduces Stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Scott & Selber Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 32,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 725 shares during the quarter. Scott & Selber Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $2,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SCHW. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its position in Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Planning Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value of $1,181,690.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the business’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 $67,770,450.07. This trade represents a 35.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 487,820 shares of company stock valued at $39,938,849. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $78.08 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $78.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.76. The Charles Schwab Co. has a twelve month low of $61.01 and a twelve month high of $84.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.11, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $103.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Charles Schwab currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.33.

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.