The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Sold by Harfst & Associates Inc.

Harfst & Associates Inc. trimmed its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,312 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab makes up 0.7% of Harfst & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $3,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of SCHW opened at $78.68 on Thursday. 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 Charles Schwab Co. has a 52-week low of $61.01 and a 52-week high of $84.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.38. The company has a market capitalization of $140.15 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCHW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 target price (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.33.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total transaction of $699,397.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,523,242.94. The trade was a 31.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of Charles Schwab 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 487,820 shares of company stock worth $39,938,849 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

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.