Swedbank AB Buys 19,160 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Swedbank AB increased its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 624,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,160 shares during the period. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $46,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total transaction of $192,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,069 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,391,674.38. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total transaction of $1,181,690.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,014 shares of company stock worth $4,052,281 over the last three months. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SCHW. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 price target (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Cowen upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.11.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SCHW opened at $82.13 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $77.86 and a 200 day moving average of $70.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52-week low of $61.01 and a 52-week high of $83.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.17 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.99.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.44%.

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.