Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 642,412 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,760,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 642,412 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.83% of Charles Schwab worth $1,092,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Charles Schwab by 230.1% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 33,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,483,000 after acquiring an additional 23,383 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 5,937 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Charles Schwab by 46.0% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 67,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,377 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter valued at $688,000. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners increased its position in Charles Schwab by 293.9% in the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 9,108 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCHW opened at $77.79 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $79.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. 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. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total transaction of $1,181,690.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total value of $38,057,761.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,770,450.07. This trade represents a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 509,701 shares of company stock worth $41,641,353 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SCHW shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.33.

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.