Premier Fund Managers Ltd Increases Position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 8.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 900,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares during the period. Charles Schwab comprises 2.1% of Premier Fund Managers Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Premier Fund Managers Ltd owned 0.05% of Charles Schwab worth $57,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Country Trust Bank bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Charles Schwab by 97.5% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

NYSE SCHW opened at $80.18 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.67. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $142.69 billion, a PE ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.96. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $55.42 and a 12 month high of $82.50.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.78 billion. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 16.92% and a net margin of 27.47%. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.06%.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other news, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 29,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.16, for a total transaction of $2,150,368.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 551,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,783,900.64. This trade represents a 5.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 62,345 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.52, for a total value of $4,521,259.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 60,619,371 shares in the company, valued at $4,396,116,784.92. The trade was a 0.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 103,645 shares of company stock valued at $7,440,627 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on SCHW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Cowen raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $68.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.18.

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.