GAMMA Investing LLC Makes New $725,000 Investment in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,523 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $725,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 26.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 29,775,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,634,700,000 after acquiring an additional 6,195,934 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 186.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,107,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $390,234,000 after acquiring an additional 4,624,302 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 134.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,300,286 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $290,986,000 after buying an additional 3,038,517 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Charles Schwab by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,247,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $397,877,000 after purchasing an additional 1,717,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 3,123.9% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,686,000 after buying an additional 1,318,203 shares in the last quarter. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. JMP Securities restated a "market outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 5,482 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.46, for a total value of $402,707.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 60,567 shares in the company, valued at $4,449,251.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Charles Schwab news, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 5,482 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.46, for a total transaction of $402,707.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 60,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,449,251.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 16,390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.94, for a total transaction of $1,047,976.60. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 61,331,688 shares in the company, valued at $3,921,548,130.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 316,282 shares of company stock valued at $21,373,311. 6.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW traded up $0.97 on Tuesday, reaching $75.24. The company had a trading volume of 9,242,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,798,636. The company has a market cap of $133.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.01. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 52-week low of $45.65 and a 52-week high of $75.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 8th. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.84%.

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.

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