The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Sold by Guardian Asset Advisors LLC

Guardian Asset Advisors LLC cut its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 885 shares during the period. Charles Schwab makes up approximately 0.8% of Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 230.1% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 33,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 23,383 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2,840.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew 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 last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at $688,000. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 293.9% during the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after acquiring an additional 9,108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW opened at $82.37 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $78.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick 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 stock has a market cap of $146.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is 33.44%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total transaction of $1,181,690.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 owns 18,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,523,242.94. This represents a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,514 shares of company stock valued at $3,859,731. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCHW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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 report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.56.

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.