Virtu Financial LLC Takes Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 67,075 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,964,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 175,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,964,000 after acquiring an additional 40,088 shares during the last quarter. Sciencast Management LP lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Sciencast Management LP now owns 40,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,982,000 after acquiring an additional 4,013 shares in the last quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter valued at $91,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter valued at $254,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth $101,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on SCHW shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Redburn Partners decreased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.33.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total value 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $1,523,242.94. This represents a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 501,087 shares of company stock valued at $40,952,233. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.1 %

SCHW stock opened at $78.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $142.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1-year low of $61.01 and a 1-year high of $84.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. Charles Schwab’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is 36.12%.

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.