Sterling Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Sterling Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 31.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,450 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,433 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab makes up 1.6% of Sterling Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Sterling Investment Management LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $2,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter worth $28,000. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Charles Schwab by 60.0% during the fourth quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 440 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Hall Laurie J Trustee acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCHW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $87.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $71.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Citigroup cut shares of Charles Schwab from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Friday, December 1st. They issued a "sell" rating and a $52.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Charles Schwab news, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.87, for a total value of $637,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 581,457 shares in the company, valued at $41,207,857.59. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Charles Schwab news, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.87, for a total value of $637,830.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 581,457 shares in the company, valued at $41,207,857.59. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 16,390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.94, for a total value of $1,047,976.60. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 61,331,688 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,921,548,130.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 216,584 shares of company stock valued at $14,200,769 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SCHW traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $72.34. 6,788,520 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,823,546. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $65.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.26. The stock has a market cap of $128.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.53, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The Charles Schwab Co. has a one year low of $45.65 and a one year high of $72.94.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 21.33% and a net margin of 26.90%. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.49 billion. Charles Schwab's quarterly revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is 39.37%.

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.