The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Holdings Boosted by Verity Asset Management Inc.

Verity Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,164 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Charles Schwab by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Stablepoint Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 12,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Michael S. Ryan Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Michael S. Ryan Inc. now owns 5,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, GS Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.3% during the third quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 57,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,722,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE SCHW opened at $82.76 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $77.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.99. 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 Charles Schwab Co. has a 52-week low of $61.01 and a 52-week high of $83.84.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is 33.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SCHW. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Redburn Partners cut their target price on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Cowen increased their price target on Charles Schwab from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.11.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total transaction of $699,397.36. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,523,242.94. This represents a 31.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,500 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total transaction of $192,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,391,674.38. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 50,014 shares of company stock valued at $4,052,281. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab 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.