Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Trims Stock Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,700 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $5,950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter worth $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Planning Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new position in Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 2.9 %

SCHW stock opened at $83.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $148.61 billion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 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 one year low of $61.01 and a one year high of $84.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $77.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.99.

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

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at $1,523,242.94. The trade was a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Christopher V. Dodds sold 9,284 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.43, for a total value of $755,996.12. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 442,807 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,057,774.01. This trade represents a 2.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,514 shares of company stock worth $3,859,731 in the last ninety days. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCHW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Charles Schwab has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.56.

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.