Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Takes Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $225,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SCHW. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 20,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 6,263 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $528,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 25.4% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $68.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. JMP Securities increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $72.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $72.06.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 29,991 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.80, for a total transaction of $2,033,389.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 81,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,522,038.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Charles Schwab news, insider Jonathan M. Craig sold 4,977 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.01, for a total value of $348,439.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 81,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,702,034.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 29,991 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.80, for a total value of $2,033,389.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 81,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,522,038.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 216,584 shares of company stock valued at $14,200,769 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 0.1 %

SCHW opened at $72.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $128.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day moving average of $67.09 and a 200-day moving average of $62.17. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52 week low of $45.65 and a 52 week high of $72.97.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 21.33% and a net margin of 26.90%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.07 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.37%.

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.