Eschler Asset Management LLP Purchases 379 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Eschler Asset Management LLP lifted its holdings in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 379 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab accounts for approximately 1.9% of Eschler Asset Management LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Eschler Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Charles Schwab by 0.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,673,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $432,536,000 after acquiring an additional 38,201 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 129,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,571,000 after purchasing an additional 7,499 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in Charles Schwab by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 58,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,301,000 after purchasing an additional 8,156 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in Charles Schwab by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 9,618 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Charles Schwab news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,818 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,586,123.76. This represents a 5.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jonathan M. Craig sold 9,559 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.00, for a total transaction of $783,838.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 503,041 shares of company stock worth $41,072,558 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

NYSE:SCHW opened at $84.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.08 billion, a PE ratio of 28.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.90. The Charles Schwab Co. has a twelve month low of $61.01 and a twelve month high of $85.19. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.75.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 30.31% and a return on equity of 18.20%. The company had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $102.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $94.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Monday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.22.

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.