Balefire LLC Buys 11,625 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Balefire LLC increased its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 55.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,471 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,625 shares during the period. Balefire LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $2,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth $25,000. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth $33,000. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its position in Charles Schwab by 53.1% during the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 487 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.02. 9,335,355 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,509,581. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a one year low of $61.01 and a one year high of $90.86. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $80.39.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.46 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 31.71% and a return on equity of 18.31%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is 32.73%.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 10,176 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.39, for a total value of $889,280.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 20,872 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,878,688.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 58,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,310,499.99. This trade represents a 26.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 119,995 shares of company stock worth $10,493,320. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SCHW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Charles Schwab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on Charles Schwab from $96.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup raised Charles Schwab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $85.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $89.40.

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.