The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Sold by Nelson Capital Management LLC

Nelson Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,361 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 149 shares during the period. Nelson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $2,765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,076,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,023,175,000 after purchasing an additional 414,949 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,141,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,945,614,000 after buying an additional 445,304 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 28,679,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,858,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711,312 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,644,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,157,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Charles Schwab by 2.5% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,189,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,308,485,000 after purchasing an additional 493,264 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on SCHW shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Redburn Partners decreased their target price on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 price target (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.33.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of SCHW stock opened at $79.01 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $78.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. 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 cap of $140.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.43, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced 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. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.12%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total value of $699,397.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,523,242.94. This trade represents a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,770,450.07. The trade was a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 487,820 shares of company stock worth $39,938,849 over the last 90 days. Company 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.