The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Purchased by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 119,588 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,223 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $8,851,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $1,644,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,157,923 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 28,679,305 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,858,706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,711,312 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 2,617.6% in the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 1,707,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $110,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644,931 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Charles Schwab by 186.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,138,033 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $158,236,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392,255 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at $86,845,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 12,739 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.17, for a total value of $1,034,024.63. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,092 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,796,497.64. The trade was a 17.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,014 shares of company stock valued at $4,052,281. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW stock traded up $1.53 during trading on Thursday, hitting $83.59. The stock had a trading volume of 7,113,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,083,117. The company's 50-day moving average price is $77.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.00. The Charles Schwab Co. has a twelve month low of $61.01 and a twelve month high of $83.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.99. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The company had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Charles Schwab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SCHW. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $94.00 price target (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $84.11.

About Charles Schwab

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.