The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Sold by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC cut its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,961 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $6,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Hall Laurie J Trustee acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other news, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.49, for a total transaction of $257,960.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 37,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,425,533.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 29,991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.80, for a total value of $2,033,389.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 81,446 shares in the company, valued at $5,522,038.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.49, for a total value of $257,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 37,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,425,533.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 216,584 shares of company stock valued at $14,200,769. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 15th. Raymond James cut their target price on Charles Schwab from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $71.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Charles Schwab from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.12.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of SCHW stock opened at $72.41 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.42 billion, a PE ratio of 28.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.00. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52-week low of $45.65 and a 52-week high of $72.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $65.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 21.33% and a net margin of 26.90%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.37%.

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.