Korea Investment CORP Boosts Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 37.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,136,015 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 311,547 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.06% of Charles Schwab worth $84,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,578,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,516,075,000 after buying an additional 1,187,384 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,076,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,023,175,000 after acquiring an additional 414,949 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Charles Schwab by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,141,441 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,945,614,000 after buying an additional 445,304 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.0% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Charles Schwab by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,455,266 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,513,894,000 after purchasing an additional 265,708 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

SCHW opened at $78.38 on Tuesday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1-year low of $61.01 and a 1-year high of $84.50. The stock has a market cap of $142.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $79.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.56. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Charles Schwab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In related news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total transaction of $1,181,690.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total transaction of $38,057,761.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at $67,770,450.07. The trade was a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 509,701 shares of company stock worth $41,641,353. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.