Schroder Investment Management Group Raises Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 630,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 57,684 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $46,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,673,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $432,536,000 after acquiring an additional 38,201 shares in the last quarter. United Bank raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 11,352 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,309 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the third quarter worth approximately $1,754,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at approximately $12,120,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total value of $38,057,761.39. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,770,450.07. This represents a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.43, for a total transaction of $261,713.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,548,152.32. The trade was a 6.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 513,081 shares of company stock worth $41,903,066. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Charles Schwab from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.94.

Charles Schwab Trading Down 7.7 %

Shares of SCHW traded down $5.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $69.07. The stock had a trading volume of 25,464,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,026,468. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The business's fifty day moving average is $79.09 and its 200 day moving average is $75.81. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52-week low of $61.01 and a 52-week high of $84.50. The firm has a market cap of $125.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.91.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. The business's revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio is 36.12%.

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.