Avanza Fonder AB Invests $7.76 Million in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 104,890 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,763,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SCHW. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,358 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Michael S. Ryan Inc. raised its position in Charles Schwab by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Michael S. Ryan Inc. now owns 5,998 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $444,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. GS Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 0.3% in the third quarter. GS Investments Inc. now owns 57,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,722,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Arcataur Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arcataur Capital Management LLC now owns 6,648 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 150 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 Charles Schwab news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $188,623.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,069 shares in the company, valued at $1,481,838.69. This represents a 11.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher V. Dodds sold 9,284 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.43, for a total transaction of $755,996.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 442,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at $36,057,774.01. This trade represents a 2.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 26,823 shares of company stock worth $2,171,194 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:SCHW traded up $1.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $76.53. 12,277,167 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,817,749. The stock has a market cap of $136.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.99. The Charles Schwab Co. has a fifty-two week low of $61.01 and a fifty-two week high of $83.35. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $77.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.02. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 27.47% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.78 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is 39.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on SCHW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $89.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Charles Schwab presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.41.

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.