Westmount Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Westmount Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 52.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,651 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,036 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 380.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 24,240 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 19,195 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at $441,000. PFG Advisors purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at $220,000. LBP AM SA purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at $3,596,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE SCHW traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $91.26. 10,824,598 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,480,766. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $88.89 and a 200 day moving average of $81.69. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 12-month low of $61.01 and a 12-month high of $93.35. The company has a market cap of $165.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.93.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 31.71% and a return on equity of 18.31%. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is currently 32.73%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, Director Paula A. Sneed sold 8,647 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.06, for a total transaction of $761,454.82. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 105,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,303,891.24. This represents a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 10,129 shares of the 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 $911,711.29. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 39,154 shares in the company, valued at $3,524,251.54. This represents a 20.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 119,905 shares of company stock valued at $10,530,833 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SCHW shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $89.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. William Blair cut shares of Charles Schwab from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 3rd. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $91.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $95.60.

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.