Prudential Financial Inc. Cuts Stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 813,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 106,131 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $60,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Charles Schwab by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,673,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $432,536,000 after purchasing an additional 38,201 shares in the last quarter. United Bank increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 13.0% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 11,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $736,000 after buying an additional 1,309 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Charles Schwab by 44.0% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 36,281 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,351,000 after acquiring an additional 11,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $636,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE SCHW opened at $80.07 on Tuesday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a one year low of $61.01 and a one year high of $84.50. The firm has a market cap of $145.21 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $79.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’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 year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 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 1.35%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.12%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,380 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total value of $268,101.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,586,123.76. The trade was a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value of $1,181,690.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 501,087 shares of company stock worth $40,952,233 in the last three months. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SCHW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.33.

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.