Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Charles Schwab comprises approximately 1.2% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 33.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 69,360,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,771,985,000 after purchasing an additional 17,369,091 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth about $950,192,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 26.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 29,775,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,634,700,000 after buying an additional 6,195,934 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 186.2% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,107,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $390,234,000 after buying an additional 4,624,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 424.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,451,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $305,400,000 after buying an additional 3,602,830 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 3.9 %

Shares of SCHW traded down $2.93 on Thursday, hitting $72.34. 14,673,379 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,615,976. The company has a market capitalization of $128.57 billion, a PE ratio of 30.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.98. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.05. The Charles Schwab Co. has a one year low of $48.66 and a one year high of $79.49.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 26.14% and a return on equity of 19.25%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.84%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.29, for a total value of $587,610.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 585,057 shares in the company, valued at $38,198,371.53. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 5,500 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.71, for a total transaction of $361,405.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,584,333.81. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.29, for a total transaction of $587,610.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 585,057 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,198,371.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 622,536 shares of company stock worth $46,208,155. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SCHW shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $86.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.12.

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.