The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Acquired by MML Investors Services LLC

MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 597,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,351 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $44,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 230.1% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 33,546 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,483,000 after acquiring an additional 23,383 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 46.0% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 67,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,400,000 after buying an additional 21,377 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at about $688,000. Golden State Equity Partners grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 293.9% during the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $903,000 after buying an additional 9,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 637,957 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $47,674,000 after acquiring an additional 43,308 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on SCHW shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Charles Schwab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $76.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $96.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. TD Cowen raised shares of Charles Schwab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $103.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total value of $699,397.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,523,242.94. This represents a 31.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Frank C. Herringer sold 3,592 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $266,741.92. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 172,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,784,750.12. The trade was a 2.04 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, 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 Price Performance

SCHW stock traded up $1.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $77.87. 9,826,007 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,320,003. The stock has a market cap of $141.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.91. 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 fifty-two week low of $61.01 and a fifty-two week high of $84.50. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $76.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.75.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.46 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

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

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.