Becker Capital Management Inc. Has $57.59 Million Stock Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Becker Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 778,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,428 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab accounts for 1.9% of Becker Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Becker Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $57,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Utah Retirement Systems boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 247,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,308,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 191.7% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 282,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,877,000 after buying an additional 185,384 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 231.0% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 296,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,979,000 after acquiring an additional 207,263 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in Charles Schwab by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,507,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $185,596,000 after acquiring an additional 98,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,739,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,164,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,286 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,380 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total transaction of $268,101.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,586,123.76. The trade was a 5.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total transaction of $38,057,761.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,770,450.07. This trade represents a 35.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 493,482 shares of company stock worth $40,288,720. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on SCHW shares. Citigroup raised shares of Charles Schwab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Redburn Partners dropped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $96.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Charles Schwab from $93.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.22.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 1.4 %

Charles Schwab stock opened at $81.29 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $76.77 and its 200 day moving average is $77.22. The Charles Schwab Co. has a one year low of $61.01 and a one year high of $84.50.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.46 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.73%.

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.