National Pension Service Boosts Stock Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

National Pension Service raised its stake in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,355,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,543 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $162,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its position in Charles Schwab by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 58,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,058,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 0.5% during the third quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 8,102,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,826,000 after acquiring an additional 42,588 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in Charles Schwab by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 1,329,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $91,462,000 after acquiring an additional 152,967 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 43.2% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 551,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,287,000 after acquiring an additional 166,316 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 883,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $60,776,000 after purchasing an additional 160,719 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SCHW. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total transaction of $518,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 29,611 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,917,608.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.76, for a total transaction of $518,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 29,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,917,608.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 58,500 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.60, for a total transaction of $3,779,100.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 61,192,538 shares in the company, valued at $3,953,037,954.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 659,587 shares of company stock valued at $47,399,731. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 1.1 %

SCHW stock traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.40. The stock had a trading volume of 5,189,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,574,732. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12-month low of $46.55 and a 12-month high of $77.05. The firm has a market cap of $135.68 billion, a PE ratio of 31.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $71.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.43 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.01. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.86% and a net margin of 26.14%. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.71 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.84%.

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.