Kentucky Retirement Systems Trims Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,659 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,414 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $7,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on SCHW shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Two 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 stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.33.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $188,623.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,481,838.69. The trade was a 11.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares in the company, valued at $67,770,450.07. This trade represents a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 490,120 shares of company stock worth $40,127,472 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:SCHW opened at $81.88 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $145.84 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.83. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $61.01 and a 12 month high of $84.50.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The company had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. Charles Schwab’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. 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%.

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.