The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Stake Lessened by Associated Banc Corp

Associated Banc Corp lowered its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 479,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,870 shares during the period. Charles Schwab makes up 1.1% of Associated Banc Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $35,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,076,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,023,175,000 after purchasing an additional 414,949 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,141,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,945,614,000 after purchasing an additional 445,304 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 6.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 28,679,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,858,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711,312 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,261,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,644,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,157,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,455,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,513,894,000 after purchasing an additional 265,708 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 5.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SCHW opened at $77.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $140.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $78.47 and its 200-day moving average is $74.25. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52-week low of $61.01 and a 52-week high of $84.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.33 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.12%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,523,242.94. This trade represents a 31.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 9,887 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.38, for a total transaction of $745,282.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 47,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,613,038.78. The trade was a 17.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 501,087 shares of company stock worth $40,952,233. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on SCHW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.