The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Purchased by Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 607 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab accounts for 2.1% of Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $4,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. State Street Corp grew its position in Charles Schwab by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,391,016 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,422,963,000 after purchasing an additional 398,367 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 26.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 29,775,952 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,634,700,000 after purchasing an additional 6,195,934 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Charles Schwab by 1.5% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,050,168 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,413,244,000 after acquiring an additional 391,238 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Charles Schwab by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,255,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,853,005,000 after acquiring an additional 8,563,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the fourth quarter worth about $1,325,555,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 0.9 %

SCHW stock traded up $0.61 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.61. The company had a trading volume of 2,752,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,759,770. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.10. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $45.65 and a 12 month high of $72.94. The stock has a market cap of $127.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.13, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.00.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 26.90% and a return on equity of 21.33%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 EPS. Charles Schwab’s revenue was down 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 9th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 8th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SCHW shares. TD Cowen raised Charles Schwab from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $87.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Charles Schwab in a research note on Friday, December 1st. They issued a “sell” rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Charles Schwab from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $64.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $71.00 target price (up previously from $70.00) on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $71.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 16,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.94, for a total value of $1,047,976.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 61,331,688 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,921,548,130.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Charles Schwab news, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 29,991 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.80, for a total transaction of $2,033,389.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 81,446 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,522,038.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 16,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.94, for a total transaction of $1,047,976.60. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 61,331,688 shares in the company, valued at $3,921,548,130.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 216,584 shares of company stock valued at $14,200,769. Company 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.