Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) position is weakened by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW – Free Report) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Form 13F. The fund owned 1,020,984 shares of the financial services provider after selling 238,626 shares during the quarter. According to its most recent filing with the SEC, Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.06% of Charles Schwab, valued at $70,246,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their hold on the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at about $950,192,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 26.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 29,775,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,634,700,000 after buying an additional 6,195,934 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Charles Schwab shares by 186.2% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,107,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $390,234,000 after buying an additional 4,624,302 shares during the same period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 424.7% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,451,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $305,400,000 after acquiring an additional 3,602,830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 134.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,300,286 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $290,986,000 after acquiring an additional 3,038,517 shares during the same period. 84.38% of the shares are held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab trading up 1.9%

SCHW stock rose $1.40 in midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.28. 8,617,439 shares of the company traded hands, compared to an average volume of 6,877,781. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1-year low of $48.66 and a 1-year high of $79.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $73.81 and a 200-day moving average of $67.85. The stock has a market cap of $130.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.66, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW – Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 15. The financial services provider reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.74 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.71 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 26.14% and a return on equity of 19.25%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will report earnings per share of $3.28 for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab announces dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.00 and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is currently 41.84%.

Wall Street analysts comment

Several brokerage firms have issued reports on SCHW. UBS Group raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Charles Schwab from “hold” to “sell” in a report on Friday, May 24. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Charles Schwab from $89.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, and seven have given a buy rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.65.

Check out our latest research report on Charles Schwab

Insider activities at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Bernard J. Clark sold 77,431 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.94, for a total transaction of $5,492,955.14. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 121,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,630,986.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Charles Schwab news, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 5,482 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.46, for a total transaction of $402,707.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 60,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,449,251.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC's website. Also, insider Bernard J. Clark sold 77,431 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.94, for a total value of $5,492,955.14. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 121,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,630,986.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. During the last quarter, insiders sold 685,467 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,752,095. Insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Profile

(Free report)

The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, is a savings and loan holding company that provides asset management, securities trading, banking, wealth management, custodian services, and financial advisory services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments: Investor Services and Advisor Services.

Further information

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