The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Stock Position Reduced by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,370,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 303,456 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $471,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW stock opened at $80.32 on Monday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $61.01 and a 12 month high of $84.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $78.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.40. The stock has a market cap of $142.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is 33.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on SCHW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.56.

Insider Activity

In other Charles Schwab news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total transaction of $38,057,761.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,770,450.07. This represents a 35.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 12,739 shares of the 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 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. Insiders have sold 502,859 shares of company stock valued at $41,161,496 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

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.