Vest Financial LLC Grows Stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 24.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,672 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Planning Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter worth $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on SCHW. Redburn Partners cut their target price on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price target (up previously from $86.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.50.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.5 %

Charles Schwab stock opened at $83.18 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.04 billion, a PE ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.83. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $61.01 and a 12 month high of $84.04.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. Charles Schwab’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is presently 33.44%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 18,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,481,838.69. This trade represents a 11.29 % 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, Director Christopher V. Dodds sold 9,284 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.43, for a total transaction of $755,996.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 442,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,057,774.01. This trade represents a 2.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 47,514 shares of company stock valued at $3,859,731. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

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.