Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 194,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,804 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $14,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its position in Charles Schwab by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on SCHW shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $76.00 to $73.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.50.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.5 %

SCHW opened at $83.18 on Friday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a one year low of $61.01 and a one year high of $84.04. The company has a market cap of $148.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $77.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.66. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.11. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The firm had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.02, for a total transaction of $192,550.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,391,674.38. This trade represents a 12.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Arun Sarin sold 8,548 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.82, for a total value of $699,397.36. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,523,242.94. This represents a 31.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,014 shares of company stock worth $4,052,281. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.