Clearbridge Investments LLC Purchases 69,537 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,262,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 69,537 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $240,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SCHW. Country Trust Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Charles Schwab by 97.5% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. CGC Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Charles Schwab in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles Schwab news, President Richard A. Wurster bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $62.05 per share, for a total transaction of $620,500.00. Following the acquisition, the president now owns 144,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,949,347.40. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, President Richard A. Wurster purchased 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $62.05 per share, with a total value of $620,500.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 144,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,949,347.40. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.05, for a total value of $576,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 554,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,543,202.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 99,636 shares of company stock worth $6,457,104. 6.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SCHW shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $82.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $71.00 price target (down from $88.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.31.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE SCHW opened at $63.91 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.82. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $48.66 and a 12 month high of $79.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.66 billion, a PE ratio of 26.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.97.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.68 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 26.30% and a return on equity of 18.14%. Charles Schwab’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.84%.

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.