MetLife Investment Management LLC Buys 6,988 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 402,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,988 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $29,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Knuff & Co LLC grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 1,309.3% during the fourth quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 606 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE SCHW traded up $1.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.87. 9,826,007 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,320,003. 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 $84.50. The business's fifty day moving average price is $76.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.22 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, 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 results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The business 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 posted $0.74 EPS. Analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from Charles Schwab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is 32.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on SCHW shares. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $94.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays dropped their target price on Charles Schwab from $96.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Redburn Partners decreased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.78.

Insider Activity

In other Charles Schwab news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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 approximately $67,770,450.07. This trade represents a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 9,887 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.38, for a total value of $745,282.06. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 47,931 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,613,038.78. This represents a 17.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 502,030 shares of company stock valued at $40,988,118. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

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.