Caprock Group LLC Acquires 4,234 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,234 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $3,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SCHW. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 62.6% in the 3rd 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 bought a new stake in Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCHW opened at $82.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $147.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The Charles Schwab Co. has a fifty-two week low of $61.01 and a fifty-two week high of $83.84. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.08.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. Charles Schwab’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. This is an increase from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Christopher V. Dodds sold 9,284 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.43, for a total value of $755,996.12. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 442,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,057,774.01. The trade was a 2.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total transaction of $699,397.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,523,242.94. This trade represents a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,014 shares of company stock worth $4,052,281. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCHW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Cowen lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.11.

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.