Wealthfront Advisers LLC Trims Stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lowered its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 93.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,861 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 85,762 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SCHW. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,076,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,023,175,000 after buying an additional 414,949 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,141,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,945,614,000 after buying an additional 445,304 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 6.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 28,679,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,858,706,000 after buying an additional 1,711,312 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,261,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,644,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,157,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,455,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,513,894,000 after purchasing an additional 265,708 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 5.1 %

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $77.28 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $78.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.39. 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 52-week low of $61.01 and a 52-week high of $84.50. The company has a market cap of $140.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.85, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS 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 company had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. Charles Schwab’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on SCHW shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,770,450.07. This trade represents a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 501,087 shares of company stock worth $40,952,233. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab 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.