The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 39.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,900 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,289,544,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its position in Charles Schwab by 354.5% in 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 buying an additional 8,584,173 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,700,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $717,898,000 after buying an additional 3,974,940 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 742.0% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,181,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $309,451,000 after buying an additional 3,684,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 310.3% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,252,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $314,716,000 after buying an additional 3,216,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of SCHW stock traded up $1.59 on Monday, hitting $88.95. 7,395,106 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,422,752. The Charles Schwab Co. has a twelve month low of $61.01 and a twelve month high of $89.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.61 billion, a PE ratio of 29.75, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $83.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The business had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. 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 given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on SCHW. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $94.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Monday, April 21st. 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,290 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.68, for a total value of $288,467.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,154 shares in the company, valued at $3,433,022.72. This represents a 7.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Frank C. Herringer sold 3,592 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total value of $266,741.92. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 172,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,784,750.12. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 97,608 shares of company stock worth $8,392,040 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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.