Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 3,157,923 Shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,261,234 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,157,923 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.36% of Charles Schwab worth $1,644,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 62.6% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. American Capital Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab during the second quarter valued at $27,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Charles Schwab in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on SCHW shares. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Charles Schwab from $63.00 to $61.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.75.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SCHW opened at $82.83 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $75.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.41. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $147.41 billion, a PE ratio of 32.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.96. The Charles Schwab Co. has a twelve month low of $59.67 and a twelve month high of $83.35.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.75 by $0.02. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 27.47% and a return on equity of 16.92%. The business had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.12 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Charles Schwab’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.01, for a total value of $188,623.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,069 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,481,838.69. This represents a 11.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.05, for a total value of $576,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 554,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,543,202.45. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 127,968 shares of company stock worth $9,419,271 over the last quarter. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.