Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Decreases Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lowered its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 241,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,543 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $17,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 0.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,673,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $432,536,000 after acquiring an additional 38,201 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 2,840.7% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after purchasing an additional 5,937 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter worth approximately $24,843,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Charles Schwab by 52.1% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 768,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $49,820,000 after purchasing an additional 263,426 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW stock opened at $69.07 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $79.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.81. The firm has a market cap of $125.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.10, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.91. 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.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is presently 36.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total transaction of $38,057,761.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares in the company, valued at $67,770,450.07. This represents a 35.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 513,081 shares of company stock worth $41,903,066. 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.