The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) is Equity Investment Corp’s 9th Largest Position

Equity Investment Corp trimmed its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,604,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35,350 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab makes up 2.8% of Equity Investment Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Equity Investment Corp owned approximately 0.09% of Charles Schwab worth $118,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SCHW. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,261,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,644,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,157,923 shares in the last quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter worth $185,649,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 6.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 28,679,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,858,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711,312 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2,617.6% during the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,707,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,681,000 after buying an additional 1,644,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 186.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,138,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,236,000 after buying an additional 1,392,255 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Charles Schwab stock opened at $78.68 on Thursday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a twelve month low of $61.01 and a twelve month high of $84.50. 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 company has a market capitalization of $140.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $78.17 and its 200 day moving average is $73.38.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCHW has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 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. Redburn Partners lowered their price target on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Charles Schwab news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total value of $38,057,761.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,770,450.07. The trade was a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total transaction of $1,181,690.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 487,820 shares of company stock worth $39,938,849. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.