Acadian Asset Management LLC Buys 15,287 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation $SCHW

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 1,674.4% during the first quarter, owning 16,200 shares worth approximately $1.27 million at the end of the reporting period.
• The Charles Schwab Corporation announced a $20 billion share repurchase program, indicating that its board believes the stock is undervalued, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share.
• Wall Street analysts have a positive outlook on Schwab, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $100.00, reflecting strong confidence in future growth despite some price adjustments by various research firms.

Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 1,674.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 15,287 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC's holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,265,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the first quarter worth $79,605,000. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 13.8% during the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 39,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,061,000 after buying an additional 4,754 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 6.2% during the first quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 1,181,563 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $92,493,000 after buying an additional 68,858 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 14.1% during the first quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 39,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,074,000 after buying an additional 4,869 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Charles Schwab by 7.6% during the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 163,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,760,000 after buying an additional 11,505 shares during the period. 84.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Charles Schwab stock traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $94.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 14,854,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,013,388. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a one year low of $62.41 and a one year high of $99.59. The company has a market capitalization of $171.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.96. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $95.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 0.55.

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

Charles Schwab declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.03%.

Insider Activity at Charles Schwab

In related news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 50,016 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $4,851,552.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 6,144 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.81, for a total transaction of $594,800.64. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,923 shares in the company, valued at $1,154,265.63. The trade was a 34.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 267,213 shares of company stock valued at $26,232,180 over the last three months. Insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SCHW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $114.00 to $113.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $107.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $100.00.

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.