The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,996,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,682,532 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.24% of Charles Schwab worth $1,627,981,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Knuff & Co LLC grew its position in Charles Schwab by 1,309.3% in the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $77.66 on Wednesday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52-week low of $61.01 and a 52-week high of $84.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.52 and a 200 day moving average of $75.67. 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 has a market capitalization of $140.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Redburn Partners reduced their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.33.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $689,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,936,320. This represents a 14.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value of $1,181,690.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 509,701 shares of company stock valued at $41,641,353 over the last three months. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.