DnB Asset Management AS Decreases Stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

DnB Asset Management AS cut its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 440,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 60,356 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $32,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SCHW. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,289,544,000. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in Charles Schwab by 310.3% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,252,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $314,716,000 after purchasing an additional 3,216,000 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,261,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,644,674,000 after buying an additional 3,157,923 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter valued at $189,791,000. Finally, Veritas Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth $185,649,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $77.79 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $79.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.28. The Charles Schwab Co. has a one year low of $61.01 and a one year high of $84.50. The stock has a market cap of $141.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase 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 1.39%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on SCHW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen raised Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total transaction of $699,397.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,523,242.94. The trade was a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total transaction of $1,181,690.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 509,701 shares of company stock valued at $41,641,353. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.