The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Bought by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 285,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,600 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $21,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Charles Schwab by 0.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 62,076,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,023,175,000 after purchasing an additional 414,949 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,141,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,945,614,000 after acquiring an additional 445,304 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 6.3% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 1,711,312 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,261,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,644,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,157,923 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 2.5% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,189,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,308,485,000 after acquiring an additional 493,264 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of SCHW stock opened at $80.50 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $77.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.02. The firm has a market cap of $143.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.92, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.99. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1 year low of $61.01 and a 1 year 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. 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 1.34%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SCHW shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Redburn Partners reduced their price objective on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total transaction of $38,057,761.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,770,450.07. The trade was a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 490,120 shares of company stock valued at $40,127,472 over the last quarter. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Charles Schwab

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.