The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Bought by Aviance Capital Partners LLC

Aviance Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the period. Charles Schwab comprises 0.9% of Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $6,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Planning Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 price target (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.33.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE:SCHW opened at $75.53 on Friday. 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 Charles Schwab Co. has a fifty-two week low of $61.01 and a fifty-two week high of $84.50. The stock has a market cap of $136.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.86.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost 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 1.43%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is 36.12%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,770,450.07. This represents a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total transaction of $268,101.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,586,123.76. The trade was a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 491,200 shares of company stock valued at $40,206,950. 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.