Blue Whale Capital LLP Sells 17,262 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Blue Whale Capital LLP lowered its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 223,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,262 shares during the period. Charles Schwab makes up 1.2% of Blue Whale Capital LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Blue Whale Capital LLP’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $16,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SCHW. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Knuff & Co LLC grew its position in Charles Schwab by 1,309.3% in the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 9,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.38, for a total value of $745,282.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 47,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,613,038.78. This trade represents a 17.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total value of $699,397.36. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,523,242.94. The trade was a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 513,081 shares of company stock worth $41,903,066 in the last 90 days. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 7.7 %

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $69.07 on Monday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a twelve month low of $61.01 and a twelve month high of $84.50. The company’s 50 day moving average is $79.09 and its 200 day moving average is $75.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $125.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.91.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is currently 36.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCHW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 price objective (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen upgraded Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.94.

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.