The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 990 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In related news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 35.96 % 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, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value of $1,181,690.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 487,820 shares of company stock worth $39,938,849 in the last ninety days. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Charles Schwab stock opened at $80.16 on Tuesday. 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 1-year low of $61.01 and a 1-year high of $84.50. The business has a 50-day moving average of $78.03 and a 200-day moving average of $73.22. The company has a market capitalization of $142.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.81, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued 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 return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Charles Schwab’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCHW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Redburn Partners lowered their price target on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen upgraded Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $103.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.33.

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.