Hickory Asset Management Inc. Invests $1.30 Million in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Hickory Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 17,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,000. Charles Schwab comprises approximately 1.1% of Hickory Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SCHW. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW opened at $80.32 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $78.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.25. 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 cap of $142.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.86, a P/E/G 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 $84.50.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Charles Schwab’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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 dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is currently 33.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SCHW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.56.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total transaction of $1,181,690.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,770,450.07. This represents a 35.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 512,143 shares of company stock worth $41,917,493. 6.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Charles Schwab Company 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.