Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Makes New $1.59 Million Investment in The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. has acquired 20,400 shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation, valued at approximately $1,594,000, marking a new position for the firm in the financial services sector.
• A recent survey of analysts shows a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Charles Schwab (SCHW), with a price target averaging $99.60.
• Charles Schwab announced a $20 billion share repurchase plan, indicating that management believes its stock is undervalued, alongside declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. bought a new stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 20,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,594,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SCHW. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 15.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 148,395,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,616,380,000 after acquiring an additional 19,817,022 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 229.3% in the first quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 14,002,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,096,083,000 after acquiring an additional 9,749,728 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 354.5% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,005,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $814,545,000 after acquiring an additional 8,584,173 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Charles Schwab in the first quarter valued at about $440,699,000. Finally, Boston Partners bought a new stake in Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth about $383,510,000. Institutional investors own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on SCHW. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Charles Schwab from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.60.

Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of SCHW traded down $0.1690 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $95.6510. The stock had a trading volume of 12,859,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,012,337. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 12 month low of $61.16 and a 12 month high of $99.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $173.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.96.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.30% and a net margin of 33.68%.The company had revenue of $5.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.73 EPS. Charles Schwab's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.03%.

Charles Schwab announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,850 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.57, for a total value of $249,574.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,332,727.83. This trade represents a 15.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,290 shares of Charles Schwab stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.06, for a total value of $316,037.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,188 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,956,519.28. This trade represents a 7.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 250,340 shares of company stock worth $24,250,303. 6.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.