The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Sold by Aviso Wealth Management

Aviso Wealth Management lessened its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,054 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,006,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $2,483,000 after buying an additional 23,383 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 5,937 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 46.0% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 67,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,377 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at about $688,000. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners increased its position in 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 worth $903,000 after purchasing an additional 9,108 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of SCHW opened at $80.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $146.55 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $79.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.11. The Charles Schwab Co. has a fifty-two week low of $61.01 and a fifty-two week high of $84.50.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is 36.12%.

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 value of $1,181,690.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,523,242.94. This trade represents a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 501,087 shares of company stock worth $40,952,233. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on SCHW shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $103.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.33.

Charles Schwab Company 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.