The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Purchased by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 100,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,490 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $7,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 worth $1,644,674,000 after buying an additional 3,157,923 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at $189,791,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at $185,649,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Charles Schwab by 6.3% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,711,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Charles Schwab by 186.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,138,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $158,236,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392,255 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 1.9 %

SCHW stock opened at $72.58 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $78.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.16. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52 week low of $61.01 and a 52 week high of $84.50. The company has a market cap of $131.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on SCHW. Redburn Partners dropped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. TD Cowen raised Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $88.00 to $103.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.33.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 9,887 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.38, for a total transaction of $745,282.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 47,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,613,038.78. The trade was a 17.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total transaction of $699,397.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at $1,523,242.94. This represents a 31.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 501,087 shares of company stock valued at $40,952,233 in the last 90 days. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.