Lafayette Investments Inc. Increases Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Lafayette Investments Inc. grew its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,997 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab comprises about 1.6% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $6,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC now owns 440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 81.0% in the 4th quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In related news, COO Joseph R. Martinetto sold 43,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $3,045,690.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,933,353.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Joseph R. Martinetto sold 43,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.83, for a total transaction of $3,045,690.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 41,414 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,933,353.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 24,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.23, for a total value of $1,771,079.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 312,800 shares of company stock worth $21,081,569. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCHW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $71.00 price target (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.47.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 1.2 %

Charles Schwab stock traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,362,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,681,430. The Charles Schwab Co. has a fifty-two week low of $45.65 and a fifty-two week high of $73.88. 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 company has a market cap of $131.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.89.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.86% and a net margin of 26.14%. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.84%.

About Charles Schwab

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.