Professional Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Professional Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 21.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,965 shares during the period. Professional Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Hall Laurie J Trustee purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE:SCHW traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $72.30. 1,776,660 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,734,146. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $65.43 and a 200 day moving average of $61.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1-year low of $45.65 and a 1-year high of $72.94.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 21.33%. Charles Schwab’s quarterly revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.07 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.37%.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other news, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.87, for a total value of $637,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 581,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,207,857.59. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Charles Schwab news, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.49, for a total transaction of $257,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,425,533.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.87, for a total transaction of $637,830.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 581,457 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,207,857.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 216,584 shares of company stock worth $14,200,769. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SCHW. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Friday, December 1st. They issued a “sell” rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Thursday, January 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Charles Schwab from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $75.00 to $70.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.12.

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.