Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 1,187,384 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 128,578,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,187,384 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 7.22% of Charles Schwab worth $9,516,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter worth $877,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Charles Schwab by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,258,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $93,142,000 after purchasing an additional 55,118 shares in the last quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth about $463,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth about $1,233,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter worth about $39,860,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SCHW opened at $78.47 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.79. The firm has a market cap of $142.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.24, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. 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 52-week low of $61.01 and a 52-week high of $84.50.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) 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 the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SCHW shares. Barclays upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Redburn Partners lowered their target price on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 price target (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, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at $1,523,242.94. This trade represents a 31.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total value of $1,181,690.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 501,087 shares of company stock worth $40,952,233. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab 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.