Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SCHW. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of SCHW stock opened at $78.68 on Thursday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a twelve month low of $61.01 and a twelve month high of $84.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is 36.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Charles Schwab news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total value of $38,057,761.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,770,450.07. This trade represents a 35.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total value of $699,397.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,523,242.94. This trade represents a 31.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 487,820 shares of company stock worth $39,938,849 in the last three months. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.33.

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.