Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 6,386 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Highland Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 22.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,386 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,638,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 62.6% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE SCHW opened at $83.59 on Friday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52 week low of $61.01 and a 52 week high of $83.84. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $77.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.00. 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 company has a market cap of $148.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The business’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is currently 33.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Charles Schwab from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.11.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In related news, Director Christopher V. Dodds sold 9,284 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.43, for a total transaction of $755,996.12. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 442,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,057,774.01. This trade represents a 2.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $188,623.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,481,838.69. This trade represents a 11.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,014 shares of company stock valued at $4,052,281 over the last ninety days. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Charles Schwab Company 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.