The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Acquired by GeoWealth Management LLC

GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 19.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 18,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,134 shares during the quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 230.1% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 33,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,483,000 after acquiring an additional 23,383 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 46.0% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 67,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,377 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $688,000. Golden State Equity Partners increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 293.9% in the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 9,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 637,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,674,000 after buying an additional 43,308 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

NYSE:SCHW opened at $76.52 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $138.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52 week low of $61.01 and a 52 week high of $84.50. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $77.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.49.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.12%.

Insider Activity

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total transaction of $268,101.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,818 shares in the company, valued at $4,586,123.76. This represents a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 513,081 shares of company stock valued at $41,903,066. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCHW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities cut their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $96.00 to $94.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Redburn Partners reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan analyst Kenneth Worthington reiterated an Overweight rating and $92 target. Ahead of earnings, he highlighted Schwab’s earnings model and positive impact of rising cash allocations. Citigroup raised Charles Schwab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $85.00 to $102.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.44.

About Charles Schwab

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.