Synergy Investment Management LLC Takes Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $63,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 230.1% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 33,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after acquiring an additional 23,383 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 2,840.7% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 5,937 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 46.0% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 67,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,400,000 after buying an additional 21,377 shares during the period. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth about $688,000. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 293.9% during the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 9,108 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW stock opened at $75.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1 year low of $61.01 and a 1 year high of $84.50. The firm has a market cap of $136.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.83.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 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 the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. Charles Schwab’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.12%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value of $1,181,690.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,770,450.07. This represents a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 491,200 shares of company stock valued at $40,206,950. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Finally, UBS Group upped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.33.

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.