Diversify Advisory Services LLC Sells 31,263 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 75.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 31,263 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth about $1,289,544,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 354.5% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,005,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $814,545,000 after purchasing an additional 8,584,173 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Charles Schwab by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,700,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $717,898,000 after acquiring an additional 3,974,940 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in Charles Schwab by 742.0% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,181,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $309,451,000 after acquiring an additional 3,684,640 shares during the period. Finally, PointState Capital LP bought a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter worth about $237,280,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 20,872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total value of $1,878,688.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 58,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,310,499.99. This represents a 26.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jonathan M. Craig sold 47,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.46, for a total transaction of $4,201,850.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 119,905 shares of company stock worth $10,530,833. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on SCHW. JMP Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $94.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Charles Schwab from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $95.60.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

NYSE:SCHW traded up $2.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $95.87. 23,552,773 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,345,964. 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 12-month low of $61.15 and a 12-month high of $97.50. The company has a market cap of $174.19 billion, a PE ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.93. The business's 50-day moving average price is $89.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.09.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 31.71% and a return on equity of 18.31%. The business had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.73 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.73%.

Charles Schwab 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.