Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Raises Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 607 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab makes up 2.1% of Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $4,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of SCHW. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 99,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,875,000 after acquiring an additional 6,980 shares during the last quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. now owns 27,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,910,000 after buying an additional 2,323 shares during the last quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 119,685 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,234,000 after buying an additional 2,517 shares during the last quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 21.7% in the 4th quarter. Professional Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,654 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,146,000 after buying an additional 2,965 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 29,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,912,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCHW has been the topic of several analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Thursday, January 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective (up from $70.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.12.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Charles Schwab stock traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,752,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,759,770. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $45.65 and a 12 month high of $72.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $65.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.10. The company has a market capitalization of $127.00 billion, a PE ratio of 28.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.00.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 21.33% and a net margin of 26.90%. Charles Schwab’s revenue was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is 39.37%.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.49, for a total value of $257,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,611 shares in the company, valued at $2,425,533.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 4,000 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.49, for a total transaction of $257,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 37,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,425,533.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.87, for a total value of $637,830.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 581,457 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,207,857.59. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 216,584 shares of company stock valued at $14,200,769 over the last 90 days. 6.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.