The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Purchased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 533,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,845 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $39,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its position in Charles Schwab by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter worth $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the third quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on SCHW. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 target price (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, December 9th. 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Barclays increased their price target 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, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.33.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW stock opened at $81.88 on Friday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a one year low of $61.01 and a one year high of $84.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.84 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is currently 36.12%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other news, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total value of $699,397.36. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 827,377 shares in the company, valued at $67,770,450.07. This trade represents a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 490,120 shares of company stock valued at $40,127,472. Company 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.