The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Sold by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. cut its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 43,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,694 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $3,203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter worth $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 18,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,523,242.94. The trade was a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total transaction of $192,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,069 shares in the company, valued at $1,391,674.38. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,014 shares of company stock worth $4,052,281 in the last 90 days. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Charles Schwab stock opened at $83.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $148.81 billion, a PE ratio of 27.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.99. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $61.01 and a 12 month high of $83.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $77.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.57. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $76.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Cowen lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.50.

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.