Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 202,684 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,984 shares during the period. Charles Schwab accounts for 1.9% of Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $15,001,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCHW has been the topic of several research reports. Redburn Partners reduced their target price on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Charles Schwab currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.56.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $188,623.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,481,838.69. This represents a 11.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total transaction of $38,057,761.39. Following the transaction, 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 sold 502,859 shares of company stock worth $41,161,496 over the last three months. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 1.5 %

SCHW stock opened at $80.32 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $61.01 and a 12 month high of $84.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $78.03 and its 200 day moving average is $72.40.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.44%.

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.