Advisors Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 17.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 116,336 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,483 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $8,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SCHW. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,289,544,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 69.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,700,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $717,898,000 after purchasing an additional 3,974,940 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 310.3% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,252,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $314,716,000 after purchasing an additional 3,216,000 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Charles Schwab by 15.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,261,234 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,644,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,157,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 91.0% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,217,799 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $460,179,000 after purchasing an additional 2,962,878 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total value of $268,101.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,586,123.76. This represents a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value of $1,181,690.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 513,081 shares of company stock valued at $41,903,066. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of SCHW stock traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $76.52. 19,270,925 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,292,439. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52-week low of $61.01 and a 52-week high of $84.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $77.30 and a 200 day moving average of $76.40. The company has a market cap of $138.77 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Charles Schwab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is currently 36.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan analyst Kenneth Worthington reiterated an Overweight rating and $92 target. Ahead of earnings, he highlighted Schwab’s earnings model and positive impact of rising cash allocations. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JMP Securities lowered their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $96.00 to $94.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Charles Schwab from $93.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.44.

Charles Schwab Company 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.