Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Sells 177,185 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd cut its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 69.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 177,185 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $5,827,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,261,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,644,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,157,923 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 28,679,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,858,706,000 after buying an additional 1,711,312 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2,617.6% during the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,707,771 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $110,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,644,931 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 186.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,138,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,236,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter worth about $86,845,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 12,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,796,497.64. The trade was a 17.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total value of $192,550.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,069 shares in the company, valued at $1,391,674.38. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,014 shares of company stock valued at $4,052,281 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James lowered their price target on Charles Schwab from $76.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.11.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

SCHW stock opened at $82.73 on Friday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a twelve month low of $61.01 and a twelve month high of $83.84. The firm has a market cap of $147.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

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

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is 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.