KCM Investment Advisors LLC Raises Stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,367 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $6,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 62.6% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Country Trust Bank bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. American Capital Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 97.5% in the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.05, for a total value of $576,450.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 554,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,543,202.45. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total value of $192,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,391,674.38. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 103,645 shares of company stock worth $7,440,627 over the last quarter. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE SCHW traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $80.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,124,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,069,386. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.38 and a 200 day moving average of $69.62. The stock has a market cap of $143.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.96. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52-week low of $55.09 and a 52-week high of $82.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.47.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.78 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 27.47%. Charles Schwab’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $79.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $68.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.18.

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.