Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Decreases Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. cut its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,293 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 276 shares during the quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SCHW. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 6,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 4,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 4,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 11,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $832,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on SCHW. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Monday, December 9th. Redburn Partners dropped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.33.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of SCHW opened at $74.29 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $78.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.72 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. 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 Charles Schwab Co. has a 52-week low of $61.01 and a 52-week high of $84.50.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. Charles Schwab’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. 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 is currently 36.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total transaction of $699,397.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,523,242.94. This trade represents a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total transaction of $268,101.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,586,123.76. This trade represents a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 501,087 shares of company stock worth $40,952,233. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

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.