Morton Community Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Morton Community Bank reduced its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 25.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,209 shares during the quarter. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $475,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SCHW. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Planning Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on SCHW shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Redburn Partners decreased their target price on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two research 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.33.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of SCHW stock opened at $74.58 on Monday. 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.25 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. 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. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is currently 36.12%.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total value of $38,057,761.39. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,770,450.07. The trade was a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 9,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.38, for a total value of $745,282.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 47,931 shares in the company, valued at $3,613,038.78. This represents a 17.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 501,087 shares of company stock valued at $40,952,233. Corporate 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.