MQS Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,550 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $489,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Charles Schwab by 4.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 72,306,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,230,657,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946,327 shares during the period. Darsana Capital Partners LP grew its stake in Charles Schwab by 200.0% in the 2nd quarter. Darsana Capital Partners LP now owns 3,000,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $221,070,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000,000 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its stake in Charles Schwab by 2,617.6% in the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,707,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $110,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,644,931 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $105,563,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in Charles Schwab by 231.2% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,498,929 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $108,433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046,322 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCHW traded up $1.94 during trading on Thursday, reaching $80.19. 14,451,210 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,101,502. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.42. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $55.09 and a 12 month high of $82.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.05 and a 200-day moving average of $69.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.96.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 27.47% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The firm had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. Charles Schwab's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SCHW shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $76.00 to $73.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. JMP Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cowen upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $64.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.05, for a total transaction of $576,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 554,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,543,202.45. This represents a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total transaction of $192,550.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,069 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,391,674.38. This represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 103,645 shares of company stock worth $7,440,627 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.60% 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.