The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Purchased by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 196,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,446 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $14,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Charles Schwab by 230.1% in the fourth 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 period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in Charles Schwab by 2,840.7% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 5,937 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in Charles Schwab by 46.0% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 67,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,400,000 after buying an additional 21,377 shares during the period. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter worth $688,000. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners increased its position in Charles Schwab by 293.9% in the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 9,108 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $188,623.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,481,838.69. This represents a 11.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 12,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.17, for a total value of $1,034,024.63. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,796,497.64. This trade represents a 17.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 502,859 shares of company stock valued at $41,161,496. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:SCHW opened at $81.49 on Wednesday. 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 1-year low of $61.01 and a 1-year high of $84.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.57.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. Charles Schwab’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on SCHW shares. TD Cowen raised Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $88.00 to $103.00 in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.33.

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.