The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,946 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $5,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SCHW. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. Knuff & Co LLC boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 1,309.3% during the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of SCHW opened at $78.72 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $78.76 and its 200-day moving average is $74.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $142.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. The Charles Schwab Co. has a fifty-two week low of $61.01 and a fifty-two week high of $84.50.

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

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 9,887 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.38, for a total transaction of $745,282.06. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 47,931 shares in the company, valued at $3,613,038.78. This represents a 17.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,770,450.07. The trade was a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 501,087 shares of company stock valued at $40,952,233 in the last three months. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

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.