Primecap Management Co. CA Acquires 3,216,000 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 310.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,252,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,216,000 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $314,716,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 23,383 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 2,840.7% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 5,937 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 46.0% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 67,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,377 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth $688,000. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 9,108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Charles Schwab stock opened at $77.80 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.48. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1-year low of $61.01 and a 1-year high of $84.50. 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 stock has a market cap of $141.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is 36.12%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total transaction of $268,101.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,586,123.76. This trade represents a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total transaction of $38,057,761.39. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,770,450.07. The trade was a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 501,087 shares of company stock valued at $40,952,233 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

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.