UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Acquires 17,830 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,830 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $7,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 310.3% during the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 4,252,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,716,000 after purchasing an additional 3,216,000 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 24,261,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,644,674,000 after buying an additional 3,157,923 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth $189,791,000. Veritas Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at $185,649,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 186.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,138,033 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $158,236,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392,255 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of SCHW opened at $79.63 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $144.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52-week low of $61.01 and a 52-week high of $84.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $79.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.17. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $5.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. Charles Schwab’s quarterly revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Charles Schwab’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on SCHW shares. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $87.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $94.00 price target (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.33.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In other news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the business’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 directly owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,770,450.07. The trade was a 35.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 14,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.70, for a total transaction of $1,181,690.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 509,701 shares of company stock valued at $41,641,353 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

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.