The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Purchased by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 133,843 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,663 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $9,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of SCHW. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 230.1% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 33,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after buying an additional 23,383 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 2,840.7% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 6,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 5,937 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Charles Schwab by 46.0% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 67,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,400,000 after purchasing an additional 21,377 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Pacific Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter valued at about $688,000. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 293.9% during the fourth quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 12,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $903,000 after purchasing an additional 9,108 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $81.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total transaction of $188,623.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,481,838.69. This trade represents a 11.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chairman now owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,770,450.07. This trade represents a 35.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 512,143 shares of company stock valued at $41,917,493 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW stock opened at $80.32 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $142.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 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 current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.35.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 18.20% and a net margin of 30.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. This is a boost from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.44%.

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.