Vestcor Inc Acquires 11,133 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc raised its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 31.9%, buying 11,133 shares to hold 46,044 shares worth about $4.40 million at quarter-end.
• Corporate insiders have been net sellers recently: Dennis Howard and Chairman Walter Bettinger sold large blocks (27,903 and 162,462 shares respectively), with insiders offloading 415,568 shares valued at roughly $42.6 million in the past 90 days.
• Analysts have been lifting targets and ratings—SCHW has a consensus “Moderate Buy” with a $115.95 average price target after several recent upgrades.

Vestcor Inc grew its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 31.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,044 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,133 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $4,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SCHW. West Branch Capital LLC bought a new stake in Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Evelyn Partners Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in Charles Schwab during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in Charles Schwab during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Steph & Co. grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 386 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCHW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Charles Schwab from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Citizens Jmp lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $123.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $125.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.95.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Dennis Howard sold 27,903 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.02, for a total value of $2,651,343.06. Following the sale, the insider owned 10,470 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $994,859.40. This trade represents a 72.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 162,462 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.90, for a total value of $16,879,801.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman owned 529,346 shares in the company, valued at $54,999,049.40. The trade was a 23.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 415,568 shares of company stock valued at $42,639,058 in the last 90 days. 6.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 0.8%

SCHW opened at $94.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 12 month low of $65.88 and a 12 month high of $107.50. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $99.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.44.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.07. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 37.01%.The firm had revenue of $6.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 EPS. The company's revenue was up 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. Charles Schwab has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.700-5.800 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This is a boost from Charles Schwab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is 27.47%.

Charles Schwab Profile

Charles Schwab Corporation NYSE: SCHW is a diversified financial services firm that provides brokerage, banking, wealth management and advisory services to individual investors, independent investment advisors and institutional clients. Its primary offerings include retail brokerage accounts, online trading platforms, Schwab-branded mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), retirement plan services, custodial services for independent Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs), and banking products through Charles Schwab Bank.

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