The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co cut its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 494 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $2,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SCHW. Country Trust Bank acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 97.5% during the second quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. CGC Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW opened at $63.84 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.93 and a 200-day moving average of $70.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.97. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12-month low of $48.66 and a 12-month high of $79.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SCHW shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Charles Schwab from $85.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Charles Schwab from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on Charles Schwab from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com cut Charles Schwab from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Charles Schwab from $71.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 12,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.10, for a total value of $802,032.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 562,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,594,597.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Carolyn Schwab-Pomerantz sold 12,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.10, for a total value of $802,032.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 562,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,594,597.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Walter W. Bettinger purchased 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $66.26 per share, for a total transaction of $1,656,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 827,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,822,000.02. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 99,636 shares of company stock worth $6,533,064 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.60% of the company’s stock.

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.