Farallon Capital Management LLC Makes New $234.54 Million Investment in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,169,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $234,538,000. Charles Schwab comprises about 1.2% of Farallon Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

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

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other news, Director Frank C. Herringer sold 3,592 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.26, for a total transaction of $266,741.92. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 172,162 shares in the company, valued at $12,784,750.12. The trade was a 2.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Walter W. Bettinger sold 464,629 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.91, for a total value of $38,057,761.39. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 827,377 shares in the company, valued at $67,770,450.07. This represents a 35.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 503,041 shares of company stock valued at $41,072,558 over the last ninety days. 6.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

Charles Schwab stock opened at $84.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $153.08 billion, a PE ratio of 28.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $77.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.75. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 12 month low of $61.01 and a 12 month high of $85.19.

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

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on SCHW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Charles Schwab from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $74.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.