Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 148,750 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lowered its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 91.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 148,750 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $993,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SCHW. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Charles Schwab by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,261,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,644,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,157,923 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter worth $189,791,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter worth $185,649,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 28,679,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,858,706,000 after buying an additional 1,711,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 186.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,138,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,236,000 after buying an additional 1,392,255 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 price target (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Redburn Partners reduced their price target on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 9,887 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 47,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,613,038.78. This trade represents a 17.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 value of $38,057,761.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly 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. Insiders sold 501,087 shares of company stock valued at $40,952,233 over the last ninety days. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of SCHW opened at $78.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $142.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.88 and a 200 day moving average of $74.63. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $61.01 and a 12 month high of $84.50.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. Charles Schwab’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given 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 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.12%.

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.