The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Sold by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. reduced its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 327,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 53,485 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $24,232,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on SCHW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.33.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total value of $699,397.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,523,242.94. This represents a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value of $1,181,690.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 487,820 shares of company stock worth $39,938,849. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCHW opened at $79.71 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $141.99 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $78.37 and a 200-day moving average of $73.54. The Charles Schwab Co. has a one year low of $61.01 and a one year high of $84.50.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. Charles Schwab’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is currently 36.12%.

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.