Centaurus Financial Inc. Reduces Stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Centaurus Financial Inc. reduced its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 37.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,337 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 60.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Hall Laurie J Trustee purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the third quarter worth $28,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE SCHW traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.25. 5,756,153 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,447,748. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52-week low of $48.66 and a 52-week high of $79.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.19 billion, a PE ratio of 30.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.42. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $74.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.07.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 26.14%. Analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Bernard J. Clark sold 8,164 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $612,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,666 shares in the company, valued at $9,124,950. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jonathan M. Craig sold 4,977 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.01, for a total transaction of $348,439.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 81,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,702,034.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Bernard J. Clark sold 8,164 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $612,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 121,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,124,950. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 663,640 shares of company stock worth $49,331,005 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SCHW. Citigroup raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Charles Schwab from $89.00 to $81.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 31st. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Barclays raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.65.

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.