The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Stock Position Raised by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 21,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 844 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SCHW. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 230.1% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 33,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after acquiring an additional 23,383 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 2,840.7% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after acquiring an additional 5,937 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 46.0% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 67,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after acquiring an additional 21,377 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $688,000. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 293.9% in the 4th quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after buying an additional 9,108 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE SCHW opened at $78.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1 year low of $61.01 and a 1 year high of $84.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $78.44 and its 200-day moving average is $73.76.

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 analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on SCHW. UBS Group raised 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. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $88.00 to $103.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total transaction of $1,181,690.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total transaction of $38,057,761.39. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares in the company, valued at $67,770,450.07. The trade was a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 487,820 shares of company stock valued at $39,938,849 in the last 90 days. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.