Focus Partners Wealth Trims Stock Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Focus Partners Wealth decreased its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 37.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 114,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 69,094 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $8,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Charles Schwab by 230.1% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 33,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,483,000 after buying an additional 23,383 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter worth about $688,000. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter worth about $1,455,000. Golden State Equity Partners increased its position in Charles Schwab by 293.9% in the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 9,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in Charles Schwab by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 637,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,674,000 after buying an additional 43,308 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $86.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $77.86 and a 200 day moving average of $78.08. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $61.01 and a 12 month high of $87.00. The firm has a market cap of $156.35 billion, a PE ratio of 28.83, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is 32.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Frank C. Herringer sold 3,592 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $266,741.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 172,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,784,750.12. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 9,887 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 47,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,613,038.78. The trade was a 17.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,412 shares of company stock valued at $3,014,797 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SCHW. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $93.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Redburn Partners decreased their target price on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen raised Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.61.

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.