Gradient Investments LLC Sells 282,764 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Gradient Investments LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 55.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 225,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 282,764 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $16,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Bluesphere Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter valued at about $210,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 35.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 215,386 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,581,000 after purchasing an additional 55,932 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 4,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 17.8% in the 1st quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 37,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,677,000 after buying an additional 5,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Blueprint LLC lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.1% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Blueprint LLC now owns 11,708 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $847,000 after buying an additional 1,536 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SCHW shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $74.47.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 0.9 %

Charles Schwab stock traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $76.04. The stock had a trading volume of 5,414,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,577,556. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.98. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $70.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1-year low of $45.65 and a 1-year high of $76.47.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is 41.84%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total transaction of $518,080.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,917,608.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total transaction of $518,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,917,608.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan M. Craig sold 4,977 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.01, for a total transaction of $348,439.77. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 81,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,702,034.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 514,459 shares of company stock worth $36,371,155 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

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.

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