Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Acquires 3,388 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,859 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,388 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $5,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morningstar Investment Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 98.0% in the fourth quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 4,691,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,284,000 after purchasing an additional 2,322,156 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,452,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 190,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,788,000 after acquiring an additional 17,925 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $949,000 after acquiring an additional 1,430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 217.8% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 194,339 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,371,000 after acquiring an additional 133,186 shares during the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 780 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $58,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,355,175. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, President Richard A. Wurster bought 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $62.05 per share, for a total transaction of $620,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the president now directly owns 144,228 shares in the company, valued at $8,949,347.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 780 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $58,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,069 shares in the company, valued at $1,355,175. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 90,636 shares of company stock valued at $5,880,654 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:SCHW opened at $63.56 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $112.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.97. The Charles Schwab Co. has a twelve month low of $48.66 and a twelve month high of $79.49.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $4.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.68 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 26.30% and a return on equity of 18.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Charles Schwab’s payout ratio is currently 41.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SCHW shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. JMP Securities dropped their price target on Charles Schwab from $85.00 to $82.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Charles Schwab from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.75.

Charles Schwab 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.