The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Purchased by Mondrian Investment Partners LTD

Mondrian Investment Partners LTD grew its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,987,931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 138,085 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab comprises approximately 2.5% of Mondrian Investment Partners LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $147,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 6,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Klingman & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 4,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 4,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its holdings in Charles Schwab by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 11,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $832,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of SCHW opened at $73.49 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $78.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.16. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $61.01 and a 12 month high of $84.50. The firm has a market cap of $133.28 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $38,057,761.39. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,770,450.07. This trade represents a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total transaction of $699,397.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,617 shares in the company, valued at $1,523,242.94. This trade represents a 31.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 501,087 shares of company stock valued at $40,952,233. Company insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCHW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen upgraded Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Charles Schwab from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.33.

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.