Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 241,685 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,438,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 241,685 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.14% of Charles Schwab worth $181,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,673,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $432,536,000 after buying an additional 38,201 shares during the last quarter. United Bank boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 13.0% in the third quarter. United Bank now owns 11,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 7.6% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,747 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP bought a new position in Charles Schwab during the third quarter worth $1,754,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in Charles Schwab by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 541,079 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,067,000 after purchasing an additional 20,066 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of SCHW stock opened at $79.63 on Friday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1 year low of $61.01 and a 1 year high of $84.50. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $79.52 and its 200-day moving average is $75.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.98.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.11. The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on SCHW. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 price objective (up previously from $84.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Redburn Partners lowered their price objective on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.32, for a total value of $268,101.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,818 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,586,123.76. This represents a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 509,701 shares of company stock valued at $41,641,353. 6.60% of the stock is currently 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.