Alberta Investment Management Corp Purchases New Stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp has acquired a new stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation, purchasing 191,079 shares valued at approximately $14.96 million in the first quarter.
• Numerous institutional investors, including Northern Trust Corp and UBS AM, have significantly increased their holdings in Charles Schwab, with institutional investors now owning 84.38% of the company's stock.
• Charles Schwab recently announced a $20 billion share repurchase plan and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, reflecting the board's confidence in the company's valuation.

Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 191,079 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $14,958,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 15,739,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,164,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,864,286 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 14,842,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,098,497,000 after purchasing an additional 430,250 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 11,653,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $862,489,000 after acquiring an additional 2,511,082 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 5.9% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 11,056,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $865,538,000 after acquiring an additional 618,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Charles Schwab by 354.5% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 11,005,881 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $814,545,000 after acquiring an additional 8,584,173 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other news, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,290 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.95, for a total transaction of $299,225.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 35,864 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,261,830.80. The trade was a 8.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 24,096 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.91, for a total value of $2,359,239.36. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 58,999 shares in the company, valued at $5,776,592.09. This trade represents a 29.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 304,726 shares of company stock worth $29,025,396. Corporate insiders own 6.30% of the company's stock.

Charles Schwab Stock Performance

Shares of SCHW stock opened at $97.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.93. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52-week low of $61.15 and a 52-week high of $99.59. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $91.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a return on equity of 19.73% 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.73 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid 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 payout ratio is 29.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SCHW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Barclays raised 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. TD Securities raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, JMP Securities raised their target price on Charles Schwab from $106.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Charles Schwab presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.35.

Charles Schwab Company Profile

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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