B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Trims Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG decreased its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 23.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 169,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 50,602 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $12,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,289,544,000. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 310.3% in the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,252,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,716,000 after acquiring an additional 3,216,000 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,261,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,644,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,157,923 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 91.0% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,217,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $460,179,000 after acquiring an additional 2,962,878 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at $189,791,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 2.3 %

SCHW opened at $77.79 on Monday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a one year low of $61.01 and a one year high of $84.50. The company has a market cap of $141.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. The business’s fifty day moving average is $79.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.45. 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 posted 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 firm had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Redburn Partners dropped their price target on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company 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 assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In related news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total transaction of $38,057,761.39. Following the sale, the chairman now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value 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 worth $41,641,353. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Charles Schwab 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.