Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Grows Stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,052,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter valued at $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCHW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Redburn Partners lowered their target price on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.33.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE SCHW opened at $78.68 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $78.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.38. 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 company has a market capitalization of $140.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share 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 paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.12%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at $1,523,242.94. This trade represents a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value of $1,181,690.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 487,820 shares of company stock valued at $39,938,849. 6.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.