Zullo Investment Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Zullo Investment Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 311 shares during the period. Zullo Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 62.6% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Charles Schwab in the third quarter worth $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of SCHW opened at $82.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $146.11 billion, a PE ratio of 27.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1-year low of $61.01 and a 1-year high of $84.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.76.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Charles Schwab’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is 36.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $188,623.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,481,838.69. This represents a 11.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 12,739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.17, for a total transaction of $1,034,024.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,796,497.64. The trade was a 17.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 502,859 shares of company stock valued at $41,161,496. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on SCHW shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $88.00 to $103.00 in a report on Tuesday. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.33.

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.