Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 34.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,564 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 62.6% in the 3rd 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 purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE:SCHW opened at $81.13 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $78.00 and a 200 day moving average of $71.88. The company has a market capitalization of $144.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.99. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1-year low of $61.01 and a 1-year high of $84.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is presently 36.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SCHW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 12,739 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.17, for a total value of $1,034,024.63. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,796,497.64. The trade was a 17.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at $1,523,242.94. This trade represents a 31.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,514 shares of company stock worth $3,859,731 in the last quarter. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.