Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 4,048 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 20.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,565 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,048 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.'s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 valued at $1,644,674,000 after buying an additional 3,157,923 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Charles Schwab by 6.3% during the third 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 buying an additional 1,711,312 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in Charles Schwab by 2,617.6% during 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 buying an additional 1,644,931 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the third quarter valued at $86,845,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Charles Schwab by 7,559.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 889,779 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,667,000 after buying an additional 878,163 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 18,617 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,523,242.94. This represents a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 stock was sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total value of $192,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,069 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,391,674.38. The trade was a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,014 shares of company stock valued at $4,052,281 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE:SCHW traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $81.73. 9,056,159 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,235,891. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $77.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.87. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $61.01 and a 12 month high of $83.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $94.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $84.11.

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.