Optas LLC Purchases 964 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Optas LLC boosted its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 25.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 964 shares during the quarter. Optas LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $348,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Charles Schwab Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:SCHW opened at $81.90 on Wednesday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $61.01 and a 12 month high of $83.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $77.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.36. The firm has a market cap of $145.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on SCHW. Bank of America cut their price target on Charles Schwab from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price (up from $86.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Redburn Partners dropped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $188,623.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,481,838.69. This trade represents a 11.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total transaction of $699,397.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at $1,523,242.94. This represents a 31.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,014 shares of company stock worth $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.