Colonial Trust Co SC Grows Stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Colonial Trust Co SC lifted its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 30.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,677 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Co SC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $3,733,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SCHW. Crestline Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth $5,044,000. Capital Advantage Inc. purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $600,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 1,043.2% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 205,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,203,000 after buying an additional 187,448 shares during the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth about $798,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 266,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,712,000 after purchasing an additional 34,451 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of SCHW traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $84.53. 5,909,955 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,395,897. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $77.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.84. The stock has a market cap of $153.30 billion, a PE ratio of 28.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.90. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $61.01 and a 12 month high of $85.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is currently 32.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total value of $38,057,761.39. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 827,377 shares in the company, valued at $67,770,450.07. This represents a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,380 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total value of $268,101.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,818 shares in the company, valued at $4,586,123.76. This trade represents a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 503,041 shares of company stock worth $41,072,558 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCHW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Charles Schwab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Charles Schwab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $76.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Redburn Partners reduced their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.22.

Charles Schwab Company 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.