Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 52,845 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 11.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 533,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,845 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $39,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

NYSE:SCHW opened at $81.88 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $145.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.38, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $77.97 and a 200-day moving average of $72.83. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52 week low of $61.01 and a 52 week high of $84.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47.

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, beating 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 firm earned $0.68 EPS. Charles Schwab’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is 36.12%.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In related news, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $188,623.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,069 shares in the company, valued at $1,481,838.69. This trade represents a 11.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 490,120 shares of company stock valued at $40,127,472 in the last three months. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SCHW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Redburn Partners lowered their price target on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.33.

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.