Congress Wealth Management LLC DE Takes Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Congress Wealth Management LLC DE purchased a new position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,980 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Knuff & Co LLC lifted its stake in Charles Schwab by 1,309.3% in the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE SCHW opened at $77.79 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.45. The Charles Schwab Co. has a twelve month low of $61.01 and a twelve month high of $84.50. 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 company has a market capitalization of $141.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released 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 company 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 company posted $0.68 EPS. Charles Schwab’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCHW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total value of $699,397.36. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total transaction of $38,057,761.39. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,770,450.07. The trade was a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 509,701 shares of company stock valued at $41,641,353 over the last three months. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

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.