Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 473 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Essex Financial Services Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 473 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $961,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Charles Schwab in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Planning Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total value of $699,397.36. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,523,242.94. This represents a 31.47 % 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, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 12,739 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.17, for a total value of $1,034,024.63. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,796,497.64. This trade represents a 17.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,514 shares of company stock worth $3,859,731 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on SCHW. Redburn Partners decreased their target price on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Cowen raised their price objective on Charles Schwab from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.56.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:SCHW opened at $83.51 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $77.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $61.01 and a 12 month high of $84.50. The company has a market cap of $148.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.93, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is 33.44%.

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.