Guardian Asset Advisors LLC Sells 885 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Guardian Asset Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 885 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab accounts for about 0.8% of Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Guardian Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the third quarter worth $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Charles Schwab stock opened at $82.37 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $146.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $78.06 and a 200-day moving average of $72.18. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.33 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on SCHW. Redburn Partners decreased their price objective on shares of 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 increased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.56.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at $1,523,242.94. This represents a 31.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,514 shares of company stock worth $3,859,731 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

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.