Allen Investment Management LLC Sells 28,453 Shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW)

Key Points

• Allen Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation by 0.3% in Q1, selling 28,453 shares and retaining 8,208,961 shares, accounting for about 7.5% of its portfolio.
• Insiders have recently sold a combined total of 116,313 shares worth approximately $10.26 million, indicating a significant decrease in their holdings.
• Charles Schwab announced a $20.00 billion share buyback program and a quarterly dividend of $0.27, suggesting confidence in its stock valuation and commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Allen Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,208,961 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 28,453 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab accounts for about 7.5% of Allen Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Allen Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.45% of Charles Schwab worth $642,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atwood & Palmer Inc. bought a new stake in Charles Schwab in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Charles Schwab by 75.0% in the first quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the first quarter worth $33,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 90.5% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 463 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jonathan S. Beatty sold 2,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.57, for a total value of $249,574.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,332,727.83. This represents a 15.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nigel J. Murtagh sold 20,872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.01, for a total transaction of $1,878,688.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 58,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,310,499.99. The trade was a 26.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 116,313 shares of company stock worth $10,264,091 in the last quarter. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of SCHW stock opened at $97.05 on Friday. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a 52-week low of $61.15 and a 52-week high of $98.28. The stock has a market cap of $176.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $90.34 and a 200-day moving average of $82.81.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) 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 19.73%. The company had revenue of $5.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. The business's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Charles Schwab's payout ratio is 29.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SCHW shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 21st. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Charles Schwab in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Charles Schwab from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $65.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $98.65.

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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